A Washington, DC newspaper reporter, Max Mallard, is sent to investigate the town of Wise. Rumor has it that the town has decided to call off Christmas. Is this a hoax or the truth?
To his surprise, Mallard finds Wise, a small town nestled up in the Appalachian Mountains, truly canceling the holiday celebrations, including the New Year. The people simply cannot afford it. The entire town went bust virtually overnight. It would be reckless to celebrate such a holiday that is certain to be costly. Adding to the town's problems, their mayor, Howard Peel, quite abruptly fled Wise and his family a year earlier. He had not been heard from since. No one else volunteered to take on the mayoral responsibility of running a town with a ruined economy.
As the disheartened people of Wise are just about to cast their votes to officially cancel Christmas, a mysterious visitor shows up announcing he has a remarkable Christmas story to tell. The town's people show no interest in the stranger or his 'tale.' They are eager to cast their votes until he stops them cold with the promise of a fantastic story involving their missing mayor, Howard Peel.