Even with Christmas around the corner, for the Buckley boys, payback almost always wins out over brotherly love. That is until the four brothers join forces against a common adversary--the Hagbarts, the meanest bullies at their middle school. But now Mom has decided that the Buckley family is going to Elve the Hagbarts this year for Christmas. Eleven-year-old Matthew can hardly stand it. By day the Hagbarts torture the Buckley brothers into submission, and by night the Buckleys secretly deliver Christmas treats and gifts to their sworn enemies. Soon the war of wits escalates to an incredible scheme designed to get the ultimate revenge on the Hagbarts. But now that Matthew has been learning that he's supposed to be good to those who hate him, what will he do when a little push becomes a great big shove?

It's the Christmas season. Widowed Paul Stevenson and his two daughters, fifteen year old Esther Stevenson and ten year old Kassie Stevenson, have just moved to the winter resort town of Heber Valley, Utah, where Paul will be the general manager of the Heber Valley Bank. Kassie in particular is afraid she won't make friends, especially since her school doesn't have a music program. Music and singing is one of her passions, one of the ways she stays connected to the memory of her musician mother. Kassie stumbles upon an injured and abandoned German Shepard, who, with Esther's help, nurses him back to health while hiding the fact of who they eventually name Scoot from their father, who they believe will not let them keep him. But upon finding out about him, Paul does allow them to keep Scoot, who Kassie considers her first real friend in Heber Valley. Kassie is eventually able to use music in the form of the children's choir at the local church to find her place in town. She and the ... Written by Huggo