The Cratchit family, preparing for a hearty Christmas in spite of their poverty, is dismayed to learn that their father will have to work on Christmas Day, as his employer, Mr. Scrooge, is mean and miserly. On Christmas Eve, after Scrooge dismisses Cratchit with savage ill humor and locks up for the night, his dead partner's ghost undertakes to show him the error of his ways. When Christmas Day dawns, Scrooge is a changed man and with new joy goes about making amends for his grouchy ways.