On Christmas Eve in 1968 six-year-old army brat Clairee simultaneously learns the hard truth about Santa Claus and the realities of war. Her bullying older brother Mickey informs her that Santa insn't real and that their absent father is actually far away, serving his country in the Vietnam War
A cataclysmic event serves as the backdrop for a passionate affair between two individuals torn between desire and the constraints of their circumstances.
