At sixteen years old, Rene Calder is leaving school with little in the way of qualifications. Fearing a life in service is all she can hope for, she lands a seasonal job at Mackintosh's Quality Street factory, and vows to work harder than anyone else so that they keep her on past Christmas. Rene quickly makes friends, especially with Mary, and with Max, one of the managers. But it's also easy to fall foul of the rules at Mackintosh's and Rene soon makes an enemy of Frances, the most hated supervisor at the factory. When a shocking accident damages the production line, it puts the country's supply of Quality Street at risk and soon the staff are working flat out making the chocolate by hand. Will Rene be able to prove herself and keep her job - and can the whole community pull together make this a Quality Street Christmas ...?