Corinna Chapman, owner of the bakery Earthly Delights, detests Christmas. The shoppers are frantic and the heat oppressive in Melbourne, Australia, where Christmas is a summer festival. Corinna is a perfect size 20 with a genius for baking bread. And while dreaming of air-conditioned comfort, she finds herself dealing with a rose-addicted donkey named Serena, a maniacal mother with staring eyes, a distracted assistant seeking the definitive glac cherry recipe, her friend the fearless witch Meroe, and the luscious Daniel with whom she would like to spend a lot more time.

But Daniel is on the track of two runaways, Brigid and Manny. Their Romeo-and-Juliet romance is not as straightforward as it seems, and the pair will go a long way to avoid being found. With the help of a troupe of free-spirited "freegans," three very clever internet hackers, and a bunch of singing vegans, Corinna and Daniel go head-to-head with a sinister religious cult on a mission and a band of Romanies out for revenge in a wild and wonderful chase against the clock.