 Two weeks before Christmas in Boston, Duncan Wagner, a lone down-and-outer who has been 
living in self-imposed exile for several years, kidnaps Gabriel Booker, the eleven-year-old
son of State Representative Winthrop Booker.Wagner takes the child to his apartment and 
ties him to a chair in front of the television, then leaves for work as a self-employed 
charity Santa Claus.When Wagner returns to his apartment, Gabriel is no longer in the 
chair.