It’s December in Boston, and Spenser is busy planning the menu for Christmas dinner when he’s confronted in his office by a boy named Slide.

Homeless and alone, Slide has found refuge with an organization named Street Business which gives shelter and seeks job opportunities for those like him. Slide’s mentor, Jackie Alvarez, is being threatened, and Street Business is in danger of losing its tenuous foothold in the community, turning Slide and many others like him back to the street. He asks Spenser, "Can you help Jackie?" But it’s not a simple case of intimidation. Spenser, aided by Hawk, finds a trail that leads to a dangerous drug kingpin, whose hold on the at-risk community Street Business serves threatens not just the boys’ safety and security, but their lives as well.

Unfinished at the time of his death, 'Silent Night' was completed by Parker’s literary agent, whose decades-long association with his work gives her unique insight and perspective to his voice and storytelling style. Helen Brann's contribution also speaks volumes about their enduring friendship.