Humorist Jean Shepard's vignette-laden, nostalgic view of Christmastime in Indiana during the 1940s. The main story involves nine-year-old Ralphie, who desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas -- and is waging an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents that the toy will be safe in his hands. Meanwhile, Ralphie prepares for the big day with his rather idiosyncratic family. For example, his brother has a strange relationship with food, and his dad is obsessed with a crossword puzzle contest. But the most important question of all is...when Christmas Day arrives, will Ralphie be the proud (and careful) owner of a Red Ryder BB Gun? Deliciously warped and winsome boyhood memories of Christmas are told by a typical American man revisiting his native Indiana during the 1940s. Among other childish pursuits, his overriding obsession to finally own a genuine Red Ryder BB gun consumes his feverish imagination. Based on Jean Shepherd's novel, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash."