Plot Synopsis

To the folks in Conway, South Carolina, Duncan Mayor is a very cranky guy, but to his wife, Suzy, he's a doting pussycat. But Suzy is just home from the hospital and cared for 24/7 by nurse Natalie, who Duncan tries his best to ignore. Duncan decides the best medicine Suzy could possibly have -- and a Christmas present she'll never forget -- is a ride on a real Ferris wheel, set up in their own back yard. Years ago, it was while riding a Ferris wheel that he asked Suzy to marry him. He finds one in an abandoned amusement park, but assembling the mechanical monstrosity is not exactly a one-man job. He gets a crucial assist from Tommy, a former student of Suzy's, who is deeply in her debt after she helped him through troubling times when he was a teen. Meanwhile, the neighbors are not amused; especially prim and proper Gayle Matthews, who has entered her garden in an upscale magazine's Christmas Showcase contest. The thought of the contest's judges witnessing the atrocity next door is more than she can bear. Fortunately, her brother is the local sheriff -- and there are zoning laws to prevent this kind of thing. But it being the Christmas season, love and mistletoe are in the air, and not just between Suzy and Duncan. Natalie and Tommy also fall under the intoxicating spell of romance.