Marcie Ellis, a Seattle high school student, is shopping at Pike Place Market when she encounters a strange little bag lady who claims to be an elf. Before she knows it, Marcie and her friends are helping little Annie stand up to a clandestine drug smuggling operation run by one of the largest developers on the city docks.

Racing to save their families from ruin, unemployment, and arrest, Marcie and her friends embark on a dangerous voyage to stop a massive shipment of contraband—with only homemade weapons, some fragile elfen gifts, and an indomitable Christmas spirit.