Katie Hollingston, the adored royal princess of the small European country of Montsaurai, is visiting New York City during the Christmas season with her bodyguards and her overbearing aunt Margaret, who has planned an itinerary of speeches, meetings, and seasonal events. A talented photographer, Katie asks her aunt if she could visit a famous art gallery, but she refuses due to the schedule. Remembering her childhood Christmas travels to America with her now deceased mother who gave her her first camera, Katie decides to run away from her royal obligations and responsibilities for a few hours and revisit the places where she and her mother once shared happier times. Her disappearance sets off a frantic search by her bodyguards. Alone in the city and unaware of the dangers the city presents, she has her camera and money stolen by muggers. A handsome renovation expert, Jack Langdon, comes to her aid and gives her some money—unaware that she is a princess. Later, Jack meets her again and invites her to accompany him to a holiday party at a magic shop owned by his old friend Harry. After the party, exhausted from all the walking, Katie falls asleep on the couch. By now, Jack has become her admirer and protector, and the two begin to fall in love. Afterwards, Jack takes her to the apartment he is renovating and gets his sister Emma to bring Katie some fresh clothes. The next morning, Katie contacts George Hoult, her mother's kind attorney, who sympathizes with her wanting to live her own life. Later, Jack and Katie return to Harry's for lunch, and Harry reveals that Jack was once a successful real estate agent, but hated the work, and decided to spend his life doing something he loved. Katie also learns that Jack's former fiancée left him as a result. That night, Jack gives Katie a new camera and asks her not to disappear from his life. All this time, Katie is unable to tell Jack her true identity. Just as she's about to confess, Emma's reporter-boyfriend, Ross, arrives and reveals that she is in fact a royal princess. However, she seemingly vanishes with Harry's help before his camerawoman, Trish, can see her. Enraged at Ross' attempt to betray Katie, Emma dumps him by locking him in the cupboard. Katie confirms her identity, and that she must soon return to her country for the Christmas festival. Before leaving, they finally get the chance to visit the art gallery together, pranking the bodyguards in the process. Back in Montsaurai on Christmas morning, Katie arrives at the festival, and is surprised to see Jack. He tells her he wants to start a new tradition in Montsaurai—one where the two of them spend every Christmas together, for the rest of their lives. The two embrace and kiss, accompanied by church bells.
