Sensitive young Toby is deeply saddened when his doted father John, who buried himself in work when widowed, dumps the boy for weeks, including Christmas, on his stern old mother, grim widow Ellen. Beside the stuck-up lady's driver-butler Henry, Toby finds comfort only with a velveteen cuddly rabbit and other animal toys in his father's childhood room, which come to life in his mind when he plays with them. Drama over rabbit and boy stirs crucial emotions in both family and fantasy toy land.