t's a cold, snowy Christmas Eve in 1936, and the school bully tells seven year-old Mikey Thorne that Santa isn't real.  Of course that doesn't faze Mikey even one bit--  Mikey is unshakable in his belief in Santa. 

But Mikey does have a big problem:  He finds out that his letter to Santa with his wish list never got mailed!

Somehow, with a mere eight hours to go before Santa begins his yearly journey, Mikey has to deliver his Christmas wish list.  Luckily, his favorite book, The Spirit of Santa, tells him everything he needs to know in order to find Santa-- everything, that is, except the exact location of his secret hideaway.  But Mikey is not one to let such small details stop him.

As the sun sets he says good-bye to his sister Susie, climbs out of his window, down the tree and heads off into the snowy sunset.

But things don't turn out quite as he expects, and his journey takes many detours.  Little does he know that along the way he will discover a wonderful secret  that will change his life forever and teach him the true Spirit of Santa.