Apprenticed to Jordan Du Bois, a violin maker, Monica must ensure he finishes a violin he started 30 years earlier on the Christmas Day his son was born. The unsuspecting father doesn’t realize Tony has come home for the holidays with a devastating secret, which the angel soon learns: Tony has AIDS and has returned home to die. The truth comes out while father and son indulge in a late- night snack. Disappointed, Jordan distances himself from Tony.

Discovering the unfinished violin he had started those years ago, Monica learns that Tess had revealed herself to the violin maker back then. She announced his son’s impending birth and also gave him a piece of wood. But Jordan never completed the instrument because a flaw in the grain had appeared when he started planing the wood. Showing Monica the scrap heap where imperfect wood is discarded, Tony confronts his father, who disowns him. After his health takes a turn for the worse, Tony enters an AIDS hospice on Christmas Eve. His mother, Willa and sister, Nora attempt to persuade Jordan to visit with them but are unsuccessful.

Later that evening, the dying attorney hears carols down the hall and tells his hospice worker, Tess he would like to see an angel. She reveals herself, saying he has not disappointed God, but he panics, thinking the revelation is a morphine-induced hallucination. Back at the workshop, Monica appeals to the violin maker to reconcile with Tony and is joined by a passionate Andrew. Jordan’s response is to smash the violin.

Tess then admonishes the Angel of Death not to judge the violin maker, just as he should not judge Tony. Monica reveals herself to Jordan, telling him God accepts Tony for who he is and urging him to do likewise. Miraculously, the ruined violin is restored, and the violin maker takes it with him to the hospice. After reconciling with his estranged son, Jordan picks up the instrument, and the blemish in the wood transforms into the shape of a Christmas tree. He plays a lullaby as Tony succumbs to his illness and is greeted by Andrew