In the quiet, rural town of Canaan, Texas, a clash between two classmates -- one, a tough farm boy, and the other, a bright, black, aspiring writer -- spins into an unlikely friendship. When the clever arrangement their families devise to teach DJ and Rodney a lesson seems hopeless, their cooperative effort to heal a wounded puppy helps them move past an unsettled battle. Not surprisingly, the truce that follows becomes an amiable kinship.But can life in Canaan lived under the shadow of racism ever really deliver the milk and honey of the Promised Land? It is amidst the magic of a Christmas they'll never forget that the boys learn a lesson about family, hope and love. And they will know for the rest of their lives that when times are hard, there will always be Christmas in Canaan.