Police dubbed Michael Syrnyk "The Yuletide Bandit" following a series of dramatic, daylight Christmastime robberies in 1998, 1999 and 2000 that left citizens fearing for their safety and police searching for an apparent psychopath. One of Syrnyk's most notorious shoot-outs occurred during a December 2000 robbery outside Polo Park Shopping Centre, Winnipeg's busiest mall. Dozens of Christmas shoppers—including senior citizens—dove for cover as bullets flew and glass shattered. The Yuletide Bandit is a true crime thriller that chronicles Syrnyk's crime spree across western Canada to his eventual capture in a brothel in Winnipeg's red light district.