A former actress trying to break into directing tests her skills with a town's annual Christmas Eve courtroom production in which the true authorship of the famous poem 'A Visit from St. Nick' is debated.
A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.