Elizabeth Waring, despite being from a prestigious family and living in a mansion, is unhappy. She wonders how the people around her can be so happy and feel the Christmas spirit even though they don't have as many blessings as she does, and she is told that she needs to have goodwill to all mankind and let go of the things that keep her unhappy. She thinks of the people in her life that she has distanced herself from because her upper-class father would not accept them, such as Dr. Carr, whom she fell in love with, and Tessie, her sister who ran away with a rival of the family. When Dr. Carr asks Elizabeth to watch a little girl, she does so happily, and she later learns that the girl is the daughter of her disowned sister. She invites her sister's family to come live with her, and she confesses her feelings to Dr. Carr, who returns them.