Mary Horowitz writes crossword puzzles for the Sacramento Herald. She's loquacious to a fault. When kids at a career day make fun of her for being single, she accepts a blind date with Steve, the cameraman for a CNN-like news network. Within minutes she decides he's the man for her. He's quickly put off by her constant verbiage and over-the-top advances; he makes an off-hand remark about going on the road with her, and splits. She's moonstruck, writes a sappy crossword puzzle, loses her job, and decides to follow him as the news team crisscrosses the Southwest; Steve's team eggs her on. Then she falls in a mine shaft, and she and Steve become a story; is it a love story?

The police force of a remote Midwestern town search for a killer Santa Claus who is picking off citizens on Christmas Eve.