The Assignment: Track down the mysterious “Christmas Tree Man”—the flannel-wearing, log-carrying hunk who has 14 million views on TikTok—and get the scoop.
The Problem: Zelda Fairbank hates clickbait, but she needs this job.
The Target: Abe Wilkerson. A grumpy architectural salvage expert who treats old wood with more tenderness than he treats people.
When Zelda tracks Abe to his fortress-like warehouse in Chicago, she expects a fluff piece. Instead, she finds a man dedicated to saving the city’s history one brick at a time. To get the story, she agrees to trade her pen for a pry bar, joining him on a salvage job in a condemned hotel.
Somewhere between stripping mahogany paneling and sharing sandwiches on a dusty floor, the professional lines blur. Zelda realizes she’s not just writing a story; she’s rewriting her life. But with the internet clamoring for Abe’s address and her boss breathing down her neck, Zelda has to make a choice. Can she protect the man she’s falling for, or will the viral storm destroy the only real thing she’s found in years?
