On Christmas Eve, three cowboys have just bought out a store of items as Christmas presents, despite having nobody on which to bestow them. While two of them admit that they just wanted to impress the pretty salesclerk, the third just felt good buying gifts to give to someone. Riding through the dark desert on horseback, they see a flashing star off in the distance, and they ride over to investigate. The newly purchased second-hand star is a sign just erected by Nick Catapoli for his business, the Star Auto Court. Nick has no Christmas spirit, especially as he deals with the problems of customers, despite his wife Rosa serving all their customers with a smile and warm heart. He believes that most people are hypocrites who just espouse this spirit at this one time of the year, and never show it at any other time. Therefore, he doesn't want to offer his lobby as shelter for a hitchhiker who wants to come in from the cold for a little while. The drifter tries to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Nick, who might, by watching the interactions of those around him, be better able to show him, especially when an obviously distressed young couple named José and Maria Santos arrive, and no more rooms are available at the inn.
Star in the Night
Three cowboys riding across the desert with gifts for no particular recipient, see a distant bright light and find it comes from the Star Auto Court sign where the owners and guests work together to help a young pregnant wife and husband.
