In 1843, two years after the success of ''Oliver Twist'', Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is suffering financial hardship from the failure of his last three books. Rejected by his publishers, he sets out to write a new book to restore his finances. Seeing inspiration around London, most notably a rich man's funeral that is largely unattended, he begins writing ''A Christmas Carol'', due in six weeks in order to be published by Christmas. As Charles begins to develop his story, he interacts with the characters he is writing about, most notably Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer). Dickens is helped by one of his servants, Tara, an Irish immigrant who is literate and able to provide advice.