根据英国文豪狄更斯着名的小说《圣诞颂歌》改编，加上了现代的电视台背景和热闹非凡的特技镜头，变成一部具有警世效果的贺节喜剧。比尔．默里在片中饰演个性凉薄的电视台大亨弗兰克，一切唯利是图，为了提高节目收视率，就是哧死观众也在所不惜。就在耶诞节前夕，已经死了七年的老板拖着腐朽的身躯回来警告弗兰克，并预告他将有三名不速之客来访，包括带他巡访旧时生活和未来际遇的计程司机，带领他分亨亲情与爱情的小仙女，在电视现场扮演鬼魂的吓人妖怪。在这三个鬼魂的引导下，弗兰克终于明白了圣诞节的真谛。导演理查德．唐纳的手法虽有点夸张，但精彩的特技和男主角的喜感演出仍然吸引观众。

Fifteen years after the Civil War the people of Bowden, Alabama still hate Marcus Hubbard for wartime profiteering. He's also at odds with wife Lavinia and his sons, conniving Ben and weak Oscar; but beautiful daughter Regina gets all she wants from him. Conflicts intensify when Regina gets involved with John Bagtry, scion of the old gentry, and Oscar with the Ku Klux Klan; on a stormy night, family relationships unravel.