As Christmastime approaches in rural, Depression-era Alabama, a young boy and his best friend, an elderly woman distantly related to him, prepare for the impending holiday by gathering ingredients for their annual batch of fruitcakes for "people who've struck our fancy." On Christmas Eve, they talk with great anticipation of the next day, but underneath is the sad, almost unspoken knowledge that the boy is growing up and his cousin is getting older and frailer. Based on Truman Capote's autobiographical short story.