Just Before Midnight — M.K. Gilroy

Christmas Eve is the time to be at home enjoying the warmth and laughter of family, isn't it? A couple in their late 60s faces the prospects of a first ever Christmas with no kids or grandkids in the house ... An emergency room nurse handles every crisis at work with calm, but inside her emotions are roiling because she can't get hold of her husband or her youngest son ... Over the past two years he has lost his job, his house, his wife, and it feels like his kids are slipping away ... Her first baby is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks, but with her husband still on duty in Afghanistan, she's never felt so alone in all her life ... Four individuals and families are trying so hard to grab hold of the spirit of Christmas that they can't see they are about to run headlong into each other ... just before midnight.