In the city of Holmgarðr, in the nation of Garðaríki, on Christmas Eve, there is magic in the air, as Uncle Drosselmeyer presents his gifts before the young children of the ambassador of Gloriana, Clara and Fitz. Yet for all the magic and festivities of Christmas, there is a sense also of danger, the shadow of war growing longer from the neighboring nations of the Hanseatic League. Caught on the cusp of the peaceful life she has always known and the threat of impending war, Clara finds himself alone in a magical realm save for the company of her cat, embroiled in dangers hitherto unimagined as she finds herself increasingly drawn to a handsome Nutcracker Princess and faced with a choice that will impact both her own fate and that of the world around her.