The holiday season is upon us, and Netflix is once again delivering festive cheer with its latest release, a heist-themed romantic comedy titled Jingle Bell Heist. This brand-new film is now available to stream and promises a mix of romance, laughter, and adventure, all set against a Christmas backdrop.

Under the direction of Michael Fimognari and a screenplay by Abby MacDonald, Jingle Bell Heist features Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells as its leading duo. The plot follows these two small-time thieves navigating the bustling streets of London as they join forces for a daring Christmas Eve heist. And, as often happens in the world of rom-coms, love might just be in the air.

The film also includes performances from Lucy Punch and Peter Serafinowicz, who add depth and humor in supporting roles. While Jingle Bell Heist embraces a lighthearted and whimsical tone, audiences will discover unexpected twists and turns that add a layer of surprise to the storyline, even if they are on the quirky side.

If you find yourself puzzled by the plot, don’t worry—Decider has you covered. Keep reading for a comprehensive breakdown of the plot and an explanation of the film’s climactic conclusion, including the much-talked-about plot twist of Jingle Bell Heist.

Jingle Bell Heist movie plot summary:

The story centers around Sophie, played by Olivia Holt, who juggles two jobs to support herself and her ailing mother, who is in the midst of unspecified cancer treatments. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Sophie is an adept pickpocket, occasionally swiping cash when the opportunity arises. While working at Sterlings, a high-end department store, Sophie pilfers a diamond-studded dog collar from a particularly unpleasant customer. She deposits the collar in the store’s secure vault for luxury items, where she also helps herself to some petty cash and takes note of the other valuable jewelry stored there.

Miles away, a man named Nick O’Connor (Connor Swindells) watches Sophie do this on the Sterlings security video feed. Nick installed this security camera system himself, and still has access to the video. But he was fired and plead guilty to stealing from the store. He spent two years in prison, and is struggling to find a place of his own to live, as well as struggling to maintain a relationship with his young daughter and baby mama.

Nick pays Sophie a visit at work. Using the footage of Sophie stealing cash, Nick blackmails her into help him rob the Sterlings security locker. Sophie says no at first, but after a doctor informs her that her mom needs an expensive treatment to get better, she agrees. The two carry out a plan to rob the security locker, but when they get there, they find the jewelry has already been stolen by someone else.

The next day at work, Sophie overhears a co-worker say that Sterling keeps $500,000 in cash in his personal safe in his office. She proposes to Nick they try to steal that, instead. So, after some recon work, they hatch a plan. Sophie figures out what kind of safe Sterling says, and tells Nick she knows how to crack it. (Apparently, her grandfather taught her how to do that.) But they need to obtain a key fob that generates a new code for the safe every sixty seconds, which Sterling keeps at his bedroom at home.

After a failed attempt to hack into the store’s servers, Nick admits something to Sophie: He never stole from Sterlings. The owner himself, Maxwell Sterling (Peter Serafinowicz), stole from his own store to collect the insurance money. Sterling framed Nick. Nick, faced with the possibility of a much longer sentence, took a plea deal, despite the fact that he was innocent. Sophie, in turn, confesses to Nick that her own father disowned her as a child.

The two hatch a new plan to get the key fob with the code to Sterling safe. Nick will seduce Sterling’s wife, Cynthia (Lucy Punch), at the holiday party, and get her to take him home. Amazingly, this seems to work… until Cynthia reveals actually, she knows exactly what Nick and Sophie are up to. Rather than turn them over to her husband, Cynthia reveals she wants in. She hands over the fob with the code, on the condition that she will get half the money.

Nick and Sophie break into Sterling’s office after hours on Christmas Eve. They use the code from the key fob to open the safe. But behind the first safe door is… a second safe door, with no lock. A computer demands a DNA sample from Sterling. Nick thinks all is lost. But Sophie steps up, and offers her finger to be pricked for a DNA sample. It works: The safe unlocks.

Jingle Bell Heist movie plot twist explained:

Plot twist: Sophie is actually Sterling’s illegitimate daughter. Sophie explains that her mom also used to work at the store, until she was fired after Sterling got her pregnant. It was Sterling who told Sophie she wasn’t his daughter, and totally cut off her and her mom. What a bad dude!

Nick and Sophie successfully break into the vault, but thanks to an ill-timed sneeze, they are caught by the store’s security guard. Sophie offers to take the fall for Nick, so that he can be there for his daughter. Lucky, she pleads with the security guard, her friend, to let her go, because Sterling is the real thief. The guard agrees.

Meanwhile, Sterling rushes to the store with police to his safe. When Sterling opens the safe, with the police watching, he finds that nothing has been taken. In fact, something has been added: The recently stolen jewelry from the security locker. Huh?

Jingle Bell Heist movie ending explained:

Here’s what happened: When Cynthia told Sophie and Nick she wanted in, she had a lot more than jewels in mind. Cynthia wanted to frame her husband, and take over his entire company. She promised to take care of Sophie and Nick if they helped. Cynthia let the Sophie and Nick know where Sterling hides his stolen goods, before the insurance claim comes through. So Sophie and Nick broke into that locker, stole the stolen merchandise, and planted them in Sterling’s safe. Thus, Sterling—who framed Nick and the new security guard—is now the one who gets framed, for a crime that he did commit.

The police arrest Sterling, and Cynthia takes over the company. True to her word, she pays Sophie and Nick. We don’t know exactly how much, but its enough for Sophie to pay for her mom’s treatment, and enough for Nick to promise to get his own apartment wherever his daughter ends up. All’s well that ends well! In the last scene of the movie, Sophie, Sophie’s mom, Sophie’s friend from the bar, Nick, Nick’s daughter, and Nick’s roommate all gather for a Christmas dinner. With that, the credits role, and the movie ends.

In the end, the Jingle Bell Heist ending feels a bit rushed and convoluted. But hey, it’s just a light-hearted Christmas movie. It’s not that deep.