Ten-year-old Jamie goes to spend the Christmas holidays with his grandfather - his Grancher Pete - in the beautiful and atmospheric Forest of Dean, while his mother goes on a short trip to Paris. Grancher Pete has a new hobby, collecting evidence of an elusive black panther which supposedly lives deep in the forest, and he takes Jamie with him to search for clues. He also introduces Jamie to a traveller family who live in a nearby camp, and Jamie makes friends with their children, Caro, Finn and Molly. The children show Jamie their huge forest playground and he is intrigued by their alternative outlook on life, which includes learning the 'old ways' from their grandmother and talking to animals in strange and ancient tongues. Jamie's holiday seems perfect when he wakes up to discover that a heavy snowfall has covered the land, and he sets off alone for a snowy play date with his new friends. While he thought he knew the forest well, the landscape looks completely different and he soon becomes lost among the trees. To top it all, Jamie unwittingly puts himself in terrible danger when he accidentally walks into the path of the panther. The legendary animal is real after all, but a more immediate problem is that no-one knows where Jamie is. As the panther creeps towards him, how will anyone be able to find him in time?
Children and adults alike will be drawn into Jamie's holiday adventure, and join him in discovering that there are special moments in our lives, when 'unreality' steps into our everyday world to lend us a helping hand.