Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has turned his back on Christmas due to a traumatic childhood experience. At the request of his wife Allison Garrick, from whom he is separated, Eddie takes his 9-year-old daughter Charlotte to work with him on Christmas Eve, where they meet a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick. Eddie, who is a social worker, thinks the man is delusional and needs professional help, but when he evokes the wrath of a local politician, he and his daughter are taken on a magical adventure that just might restore his faith in Christmas.