Christmas is coming, and while Detective Mahoney and the narrator's romance easily survives their teasing each other about being on Santa's naughty list, Mahoney is busy tracking down a ring of scammers who really belong on it for fleecing the public as phony Salvation Army bell ringers. The gang also threatens the Princess who is not thrilled by the attention and lives in a constant state of suspense fearing what they intend to do to her. The 'girls' are also busy helping a new arrival to Cedar Falls who was injured during a traffic accident. They have their own mystery to solve uncovering Lynne's dark and dangerous past.