Chris, a young boy in the Pacific Northwest town of Seacliff, Washington, goes missing. Before he disappears, he writes a letter to Santa Claus, wishing that he would no longer exist in order to not trouble his divorcing parents.
Concerned that Chris is in danger of taking his own life, locals set out to find the missing child. Among them are struggling writer David Reynolds (Rick Roberts), jaded big-city reporter M.J. Jensen (Patricia Heaton), and Max (Peter Falk), a kind yet mysterious elderly man (who is actually an angel in disguise; the character is featured in two later movies).
