Returning to his home town after the death of the grandfather who raised him, slick and cynical Wall Street trader Will Martin (
Neil Patrick Harris) feels decidedly out of place, and not at all in tune with the Christmas preparations being made by the local citizenry. But Will isn't really taking a sentimental journey at all: He's merely in town to modernize and streamline his family's real-estate company. While going through his grandfather's effects, Will and his grandmother (
Debbie Reynolds) come across the old man's diary--which reveals a lengthy relationship with a woman named Lillian. Determined to locate this mystery mistress (if indeed that's who Lillian is), Will learns a few vital lessons about love, forgiveness, and recapturing the Yuletide spirit that has so long eluded him. Adapted from a novel by
Richard Siddoway, the made-for-TV
The Christmas Wish premiered December 6, 1998, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide