Eleven-year-old Sarah Stone is lonely in a mansion amidst butlers, nannies, housekeepers, and a father who is too busy for her. She is angry at the world.

On the other side of town, in a slum called the Sink, Jared Roberts and his gang barely survive broken families and a hardscrabble existence. Jared, too, is angry, and intends to do something about it. He eyes Sarah's mansion for a pre-Christmas burglary that will show the world who he really is.

Into this mix comes a mysterious little man named Nicholas, who intrigues, yet scares, Sarah and Jared. Against incredible doubt and cynicism, Nicholas tries to guide the two youths away from their anger and the suffering that will follow, only to realize he can not move them.

Finally, he whisks them to another time and place where a Christmas long ago teaches them the true meaning of life in a way they never imagined.

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