Merry Christmas, Utah — Erin O'Quinn

Utah is a solitary Native American man who lives on the verge of nowhere, a huddle of tiny trailers in the foothills of Nevada's highest peak. He is a medicine singer, a Paiute truth-seeker who thinks he's happy. Mostly. He also knows he's gay. So true happiness lies just beyond the reach of his Spirit Song.

One day, injured, he is rescued by a stranger who soon begins to teach him the nature of healing and of physical joy. The stranger, who calls himself Kris, is a throwback to the 70s' hippie culture Utah has only heard about. And he begins to heal Kris in ways the young man has never even dreamed of.

Utah awakens on Christmas Eve to find his mysterious new friend missing. The man has only a thumbnail of a trailer, and no pickup, so his disappearance is alarming. What will happen when Utah sets out to find Kris in the dark, in a snowstorm, while the children of the world wait for Santa?