Christmas is coming and International Rescue is joining forces with Coralville Children's Hospital on a special scheme. But on Christmas Eve, two crooks break into Harman's toyshop with their sights firmly set on the Second National Bank next door...

Tracy Island is its usual sunny self except for the area around the Tracy villa which is covered in snow. Jeff is dressed up as Santa Claus and is sitting by the pool with Nicky, a young boy. Nicky requests to see the Thunderbird 3 launch which Alan carries out. Jeff recalls how Nicky came to visit the island...

At the Coralville Children's Hospital, USA, a meeting is being held between Dr. Pringle, Dr. Lang., automations manufacturer Saunders and toy store owner Harman on how to raise money for a new solartherapy wing. They are planning to launch a rocket which Harman insists should take place at his shop for publicity purposes. The plan relies upon the co-operation of International Rescue.

That night a test rocket is launched from Harman's. It flies through the air and drops a pod by parachute at the hospital, watched by Pringle, Lang, Harman and Nurse Nimmo. They find the objects inside are undamaged; the test was successful and this method will be used to deliver the presents on Christmas Day. Lang calls Thunderbird 5 to tell John that the test has been successful, an arrangement with IR having already been made.

It is December the 21^st and the inhabitants of Tracy Island begin their Christmas preparations as Lady Penelope and a mystery guest will be joining them. Tin-Tin and Scott fly to the mainland in the Ladybird Jet to buy the things on the huge shopping list. As Christmas draws closer, Grandma cooks the turkey, Kyrano makes a cake and Virgil and Alan decorate the villa. Finally on Christmas day the Eve everything is ready and they watch the real rocket being assembled on TV while Brains slips away to work on a secret experiment.

Two fake Santa Clauses prepare to leave their grotto in Harman's after closing time when two crooks, Scobie and Straker, hold them at gunpoint and force them to obey orders. Next door to Harman's, the Second National Bank is closing for the night and before shutting the vault door the guards test the system whereby if anyone so much as touches the floor an alarm will go off. Scobie finishes tying up the Santas and he and Straker remove their equipment from the jack-in-the-box with which they hope to break into the bank. Scobie estimates that they will get away with about $10 million.

The crooks cut away a portion of the wall big enough to fit through and, by embedding a handle in it, are able to pull it out. Straker fires a sucker at the far wall making a ropeline across the vault. Scobie then attaches himself to it and is pulled by is partner across without actually touching the floor. On Tracy Island Tin-Tin is giving Virgil coffee when they hear a noise coming from the villa roof. Its source turns out to be Brains who is evasive about what he was doing outside. Virgil takes off in Thunderbird 2.

Scobie loads his bag up with bars of gold and is pulled back by Straker despite the immense strain the weight places on the rope. He makes it back across but accidentally knocks a pencil onto the floor, triggering the alarm system. As the authorities close in, they dress up in Santa costumes and hide in the pod of presents that Harman employee Tanner has packed with the Coralville presents. This is then lifted into the rocket which takes off, despite the desperate attempts of the bank security guards to stop it.

On Christmas morning, a $600,000 reward is offered for anyone who catches the crooks. Thunderbird 2 arrives at Coralville to pick up the winner of a trip to Tracy Island whose invitation is with the presents. The rocket flies over the hospital and drops its pod. Lang opens the door and discovers Straker and Scobie who were knocked out by the force of the landing. After handing them over to the police, the hospital receives the reward money enabling them to build the solartherapy wing.

Christmas is celebrated at Harman's, Coralville and Tracy Island where Penelope and Nicky are staying and the Tracy brothers sing carols. Brains asks everyone to close their eyes while he activates a mechanism. Soon an artificial snow is being sprayed all over the island giving its inhabitants an authentic white Christmas.

Verdict: Rather a dismal way to end the series. Forgive me if I lack the Christmas spirit but I find the hospital, etc. entirely uninteresting. The bank robbery, despite being completely irrelevant to International Rescue, is the only good part of the story, generating some good tension and providing an alternative to the usual rescues.

Broadcast information: Broadcast on BBC 2 on Tuesday 19^th December 2001 at 6:00 pm.

DVD availability: On Volume 8 and the Complete Box Set.

VHS availability: On Volume 16, the Pod 2 Box Set and the Complete Box Set.