The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the head elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.

Paranoia sets in as the Black Death strikes European villagers in the 14th century.

On a tour of Britain in 1926, Harry Houdini enters into a passionate affair with a psychic out to con the famous magician.