Jacob Marley awakes in his grave after a scarred boy urinates on his headstone. Meanwhile, Marley's business partner
Ebenezer Scrooge is in his office where he works as an
asset stripper, with extensive industrial interests. The miserly Scrooge resents people who cherish Christmas, and tells his nephew Fred that if people were as good as they claim to be during the festive season then they would be so during the entire year. Meanwhile, Scrooge's clerk
Bob Cratchit, and his wife Mary, struggle to survive and raise their children, especially the disabled
Tim. Marley begs God to let him rest, and is delivered to
Purgatory, where a blacksmith's spirit puts him in a suit of chains and lockboxes. The
Ghost of Christmas Past tells Marley he will not have eternal rest unless he helps Scrooge find redemption. Marley visits Scrooge, shows him the exploited workers in their mills and
sweatshops, and explains that each link of his chains represents a life lost because of their greed. He warns Scrooge that the same fate awaits him unless he heeds the three spirits who will visit him on
Christmas Eve. The Ghost of Christmas Past arrives, and shows Scrooge visions of his past by taking on different guises. One vision shows Scrooge as a child at a boarding school, where he was made to stay during the Christmas season and was
sexually abused by the schoolmaster. Scrooge learns his father knew of the abuse and allowed it in exchange for the schoolmaster waiving attendance fees. Scrooge's sister Lottie rescued him one year, telling him their father was out of the family and, unbeknownst to Scrooge, threatening to shoot the schoolmaster if he ever touched her brother again. The Ghost then shows Scrooge a Christmas during which Mary asked Scrooge for £30 so Tim could have a life-saving surgery. Scrooge offered to give her the money if she came to his apartment on Christmas Day. She did, and Scrooge made Mary admit she was willing to prostitute herself to save her child, and watched her undress. He then said that he did not desire her, but that he wished to see her abandon her morals for money. Scrooge paid her and threatened to tell her husband if he should ever leave his employ. Humiliated, Mary told Scrooge that one day she would show him his true self in a "mirror", stating that she had "the power to summon such spirits." The
Ghost of Christmas Present appears, in the form of the long-deceased Lottie, Fred's mother. She and Scrooge watch the Cratchit family celebrating Christmas together. Mary lies to Bob about where she got the money, telling him that she stole a pair of diamond earrings and sold them. Bob announces he will resign from Scrooge's employment in the morning, as he has found another job. Scrooge wishes to tell Mary he will not reveal their arrangement to Bob, but, sensing his presence, Mary tells him to leave. The
Ghost of Christmas Future appears as a man in black with his mouth sewn shut. Scrooge then sees Tim skating on a frozen pond, and falling through the ice and dying of the cold. The Ghost then shows Scrooge his own corpse, alone, with no one mourning his death. Marley arrives and talks of redemption, but Scrooge says he does not deserve forgiveness and will accept his fate, if only Tim will live. Marley is returned to his grave to rest eternally, and Tim's grave vanishes as Scrooge is transported back to the present Christmas Day. Scrooge runs to the pond behind the Cratchit's house, scattering gravel on the ice to prevent Tim's death. He visits the Cratchits, wishes Bob well in his new job, and gives him £500, announcing he is closing down his business. Mary thanks Scrooge for the money, but says it will not buy her forgiveness. He replies he does not want or deserve forgiveness, but simply wants to be the best person he can be, and thanks her for summoning the spirits. After he leaves, Mary tells the three spirits that there is still much work to do. == Cast ==