The last time Ben saw his mother she was going Christmas shopping in Manhattan. That was three weeks ago... but, fourteen-year-old Ben has a plan to bring her home. First, he must enlist the help of his burnt-out half-brother, Gary. With the holiday just a week away, Ben begins his desperate search for a reluctant mother, befriends a latch-key kid from the projects, relies on a drug dealer for street protection, and learns the truth about Gary.

Maybe the best Christmas present isn't finding the family we've been given, but discovering the family we need.