Nothing says holiday cheer like a bank vault and a thief who plans a crime the way other people plan Christmas dinner. Apple TV has served exactly that with 12 12 12, a heist drama that stuffs twelve months of planning, twelve hours of chaos, and twelve days of chasing into one twisty story. The two-episode premiere arrives wrapped in tinsel and trouble, and one gift in particular has fans asking questions.

As Christmas turns grim, speculation is growing about who pays for this heist, while the answer begins with one man and a hospital window.

Yes, Serge Descoteaux (José García) is dead, and his exit was dramatic. Held under guard in a hospital and gravely ill, he realizes that Jack Strickland (Anthony Mackie) plans to use him as bait for Paul Galvin (Jamie Dornan) and Bobby Galvin (Jack Kesy). Rather than hand over the man he loves like a son, Descoteaux throws himself out of a window and lands on the pavement in front of the brothers.

The trouble began in Episode 1, when Strickland chased a suspect into a fenced alley and went to slap on the cuffs. The man in the alley turned out to be Descoteaux instead of Galvin, and when Galvin phoned with an update, Strickland answered and promised to bring him in. That one call turned a sick man into the best bait the FBI could ask for, and Episode 2 parked him in a hospital with Strickland keeping watch.

Galvin refused to abandon his surrogate father and rushed to the hospital in disguise, with his brother tagging along for the ride. They arrived a few seconds too late, since Descoteaux had already decided that his final act would buy them freedom. Galvin could only look on as the man bled out on the pavement, while Strickland spotted the brothers from the broken window and could not reach them in time.

While a family waits for terrible news, the story rewinds to Christmas Eve, when a very flexible man makes a bank vault look roomy.

Episode 1 opens with Alberich (Julius Feldmeier), a contortionist who unfolds himself out of a safety deposit box inside a Zurich vault, which is a better entrance than most Christmas guests manage. Above ground, the Galvin brothers sit through church while pretending to worship, with an archaeological dig beneath the building serving as their cover story. The date had moved up from New Year’s, and once the church emptied, the crew headed downstairs to begin.

Inside the bank, Gunda (Hildegard Schroedter), an employee with a very loose conscience, serves the security guard a fish that is far from fresh, which settles the problem without any paperwork. Kira (Kali Reis) parks a bomb threat outside the Swiss Military Academy to keep the police busy. Subtlety is clearly not on the guest list, but Serge Descoteaux, who spent about six months digging the tunnel, still reaches the vault wall with Paul Galvin and a drill.

Trouble arrives under the floor, where Alberich spots a mercury tilt switch that appears on no map and reacts to vibration. With Descoteaux on the drill and the clock ticking, Galvin finds a fix through quick thinking and a little help from YouTube. Alberich drills the hole that stops the device, and the crew clears out the cash and nearly everything else. Nearly is the key word, since Descoteaux never gets away.

Apple TV’s ‘12 12 12’ Trailer Sets Up a Dangerous Game of Cat and Mouse Between Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan

As the money vanishes into the night, the story jumps back to a happier Galvin, who is shopping for an engagement ring and has no idea what waits.

Month one finds Paul Galvin in France, working as a fisherman and living with Severine (Agathe Rousselle), who reveals that she is pregnant. His ring shopping ends in a jewelry store robbery, and the thieves tase him and point his face at the cameras to make him look like the inside man. He wakes beside his brother, who admits to burning through the Newark fortune, and Bazin (Jeanne Balibar) threatens Severine and the unborn child to force his hand.

February brings a scouting trip to the bank, which turns out to be a fortress, so Galvin politely asks for a softer target. Jack Strickland, nicknamed the Holy Ghost, works from Frankfurt and still cannot forgive himself for the agent lost in Newark. Back in Zurich, he drags Lena (Sallie Harmsen), a local detective, to a noisy bank alarm, and the church dig leads him to a body and a tunnel.

Lena flips her car during the chase, recovers in the hospital, and then checks herself out with a present: a tracker hidden inside a stolen gun that leads to the thieves in the snowy mountains. Strickland gets a new lease on life, while Galvin must face Severine, who will soon learn that her father is gone. Serge did not survive the Christmas job, which means the plot moves on with a heavier heart and a much angrier Galvin.

'12 12 12' Cast Guide: Who’s Playing Who in the Apple TV Series

What are your thoughts on 12 12 12 episodes 1 and 2? Let us know in the comments.