When Dewey Burton dies of a heart attack while running for help after finding a young girl trapped in a deep drain pipe, Tess tells Monica that his body is the key to saving the young girl and she only has four hours to do so. When Dewey’s body arrives at the coroner’s office, Monica arrives as the assistant to the skeptical pathologist, Ivar. Ivar believes that everything about a man’s life can be determined from an autopsy. While Tess remains with the little girl, Jamie, Monica begins trying to change the heart of Ivar by telling the story of Dewey’s life from the details of his body.

Monica begins by looking at the man’s hands, deducing that he worked in construction, building homes which he could never afford himself. Tess continues to comfort Jamie as Dewey’s wife, Faye, begins to search for her missing husband. As the autopsy continues, Monica learns more about Ivar, that he believes, “In the end, we are helpless and what we do doesn’t change anything,” and that he used to practice medicine but changed to pathology. Jamie’s mother alerts the authorities as to her missing daughter and a search begins, but Ivar turns off the radio as news of Jamie’s disappearance is broadcast. Ivar’s young daughter calls, telling her father that she wants to have a funeral for her goldfish, which has just died, but Ivar is unsympathetic.

Meanwhile, Jamie is unconscious but Tess refuses to pull her out due to instructions from God. Monica continues recounting John Doe’s life by telling how he fell in love, was married and lost a child. Ivar is no longer tolerant of Monica’s story telling. He breaks down, telling her how he had a son die of leukemia and that there was nothing he could do to save his son. Monica then reveals herself to be an angel, telling Ivar how she also was there to comfort Dewey when he lost his child. She tells Ivar that his child is happy in heaven and that he still has work to do.

Ivar then looks closely at Dewey’s body and begins to piece together where he might have been when he died. As the radio announces that the missing Jamie was wearing red gloves, Ivar realizes Dewey’s connection to Jamie, and where to find her. Rushing to the drain pipe, Dewey rescues and resuscitates Jamie. When Faye arrives at the scene, Ivar must tell her about the death of her Dewey. He tells her of his daring attempt to rescue Jamie. His faith now fully restored, he comforts her. “He was a good man… I could see it in his face.”

Gus Zimmerman, an insurance salesman, arrives in Las Vegas to call on his largest account, the Paradise Grand Casino. Tess tells Monica that behind Gus’ smile is a desperate man. Monica meets Gus at the bar where he explains that he is there to call on the casino manager, Mac, and earn the commission that will pay for his wife, Esther’s care in a nursing home. As he guzzles ginger ale, Gus explains that neither he nor Esther drink or gamble. When Gus learns that Mac is no longer the general manager and the new management is not willing to see him, he orders another drink, this time with vodka.

Gus goes to the cashier, withdraws a five-thousand dollar credit limit and loses it all on one roll of roulette. When Gus pleads with the croupier, “I’ll sign anything,” the phone mysteriously rings and the new manager is ready to see him. Gus enters the office to find the new manager’s name is Monique and she looks exactly like Monica. It becomes apparent that Monique is evil as she toys with Gus, reminding him of Esther’s problems and letting him win a game of poker for the entire five-thousand dollars which he just lost. Confident after his rigged victory, Gus agrees to gamble again: a signed insurance policy for his soul, something he doesn’t believe in, anyway. He loses. Dejected, Gus finds Monica at the bar and explains the situation. Monica, concerned about Gus’ huge loss, plots to beat Monique at a game of poker. Tess scolds her for entertaining the thought. Gus goes to Monique who suggests that he “have an accident,” thereby helping his wife who is the beneficiary of his insurance policy.

Gus continues to drink more and rejects Monica when she tries to convince him not to listen to Monique. Monica takes Gus back to the chapel where he and Esther were married. Gus remembers how Tess was the witness of their vows and Monica reveals that they are both angels, sent by God, to help him fight for his soul. Gus, however, only becomes more depressed, feeling that his soul is gone forever, and he climbs to the top of the casino intending to kill himself. Monique encourages him, showing him a copy of the same “soul contract” signed by Esther.

Monica pleads with Gus to ask God for His help. Gus then begins to shine a flashlight, singing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,” and begs God to help him. Powerless against Gus’ reliance on God, Monique disappears. Gus returns to find that Mac had only been late for their meeting. Mac signs the insurance contract, Esther’s care is guaranteed and Gus breathes a sigh of relief as he realizes how close he came to losing his soul.

Tess and Monica are introduced to their next assignment when the Cadillac by Bart and Hayley Ewing, a father and daughter con team.  The angels follow Bart and Hayley to Salt Lake City where Bart has promised Hayley she will be able to indulge her favorite hobby, ice skating.  Monica works as an employee of the skating rink and is short-changed by Bart as he pays for Hayley’s entry.  When Hayley falls down, Andrew, the acting D.J., introduces her to an Olympic hopeful skater, Alex Thorpe and she agrees to help Hayley learn to skate.

Meanwhile, Bart pretends to find some lost money in order to win the trust of Alex’s father, Carl, who is the owner of the rink.  Carl tells Bart of an upcoming fundraiser to benefit the Silver Blades Skate Team.  Bart notices the cash drop bag that Carl is carrying and begins to hatch an idea for a scam.  Later that night, Hayley tells her father she wants to do something other than con people–something she can be recognized for.  At the rink the next day, Hayley tells Andrew that she is torn because she wants to skate but doesn’t want to hurt her father.  Andrew tells her to follow her conscience.  Hayley works with Alex, improves dramatically and begins to demand a more normal life from her father.  Bart promises to stay in town long enough for Hayley to try out for the Silver Blades and she is temporarily appeased.

Bart then begins the con of Carl by asking if Hayley might be able to practice at the rink after it closes.  When Carl agrees, Bart pretends to drop Hayley off, packs up their belongings from the hotel, then returns to the rink and turns off the lights.  While Carl searches for the fuse box, Bart then takes the bank drop.  When the lights have been restored, Bart arrives at the rink to retrieve Hayley.  As Bart and Hayley make their getaway, Hayley realizes that her father has left the snow globe which belonged to her mother at the hotel room and refuses to leave town without it.  Bart and Hayley return to the hotel room to find the globe.  As they leave the cops arrive and Bart is arrested. Knowing that it will be easier for him to get her out of jail then vice versa, Hayley confesses to the crime.  Bart tries to convince Carl to drop the charges but he refuses, forcing a court case.

Monica reveals herself to Bart, convincing him to trust God and listen to his conscience. Bart interrupts Hayley’s trial, confesses to the crime and asks his daughter to forgive him for not teaching her right from wrong.  The judge recommends that Hayley be remanded to a foster home.  Instead Carl decides to be her foster parent enabling her to live and train with Alex.

Tess and Monica arrive in Park City, Utah as the World Cup Qualifier Ski race is about to begin.  As Tess and Monica watch over two of the contestants, Jett Rudin and Will Heller, Tess explains that the two boys have been friends for their entire life but that their friendship is about to change. Although both boys are competitive, Will has never beaten Jett.  Jett is the center of attention, even to Will’s father who taught both of them to ski.  Monica approaches Jett for an interview, the angle of which would be the friendship of Jett and Will.

Meanwhile, Will’s father, Howard is more interested in securing an endorsement deal for Jett than in his own son. When Monica interviews Will, his jealousy rises and he tells her there will be a new “top dog” on the mountain the following day.  At the qualifying round the next day, Jett sets a new record and warns Will about a dangerous curve on the course.  Fueled by his desire to finally beat Jett, Will ignores Jett’s advice, skids around the curve and loses his place on the World Cup first team.

At the lodge later that night, Monica questions Will off the record.  Will then tells her the story of how Jett’s parents were killed in a fire when they were ten years old.  The two had been having a cigarette smoking competition in the basement of Jett’s house before they fled when his parents arrived home.  When Jett woke up the next morning after spending the night with Will, his parents were dead.  Will then gave Jett a red bandana he had wanted for winning the smoking competition and resigned himself to never beat Jett at anything again.  Jett enters, having overheard the story, and denies that Will ever let him win anything.  The two argue and decide to settle the issue by racing down the mountain as the sun comes up.  As the boys race, Jett loses control and tumbles down the mountain.  When Jett regains consciousness, it is apparent that his spinal cord has been damaged and that he may never walk again.

Howard scolds Will when he learns they were racing. “You have never beaten Jett at anything… Why would you start now?”  Will then goes back to the mountain, finds the red bandana that Jett lost during his accident and returns it to Jett. Jett now remembers the argument and asks Will to help kill himself.  Will says he’ll have to think about it, but as he exits, he takes pills off of an unguarded tray and ducks into another hospital room where Monica is waiting for him.  Monica reveals herself to be an angel, and asks Will to pray… and to not hold back any longer, not from his gift of skiing nor from his friendship with Jett.  Will then goes to his father and tells him how he had let Jett win until he thought he was losing his father.  Howard tells him he’s proud of him and that he could never lose him.

Will then returns to Jett, refuses to help him die and tells him about Monica being an angel. When Jett rebukes him, Will tells him he loves him and leaves the room.  Andrew then reveals to Jett, telling him that he has a death wish because he feels responsible for his parents’ death.  When Andrew tells him he should protect his friendship with Will, Jett gives him the red bandana and asks him to give it to Will.  Will puts on his friend’s bandana and wins the World Cup Giant Slalom as Jett watches proudly from his hospital bed.

Tess and Monica arrive at the offices of NNT Television to pay a visit to T.K. McKenna, a network executive who once dreamed of “being the best” and now only wants “to be first.” As T.K. is bragging about the ratings on a show featuring a hijacked bus which explodes, Monica arrives in T.K.’s office. But T.K. is not surprised, telling Monica that people drop in to tell him things all the time and that he has no idea who they are. Monica then tries to sell him on the idea of a show about angels in which the angels are sent by God who loves us all. McKenna wants to know more and Monica tells him that like some of his visitors, angels are often undercover.

We then see a series of clips from previous episodes where the angels play a variety of roles. T.K. then dismisses Monica and the idea. As Monica leaves, T.K. is told by another executive that 76% of people believe in angels. Outside, Tess tells Monica to change the heart of the man in order to change the network. T.K. finds Monica outside of the building and convinces her to “pitch” her idea to another group of executives who immediately start to tear apart her angel premise. When they say they need a more “edgy” show, we see clips of previous episodes where Monica experiences shootings, bombings, car crashes and assassination attempts. Monica then tells them about how the angel of death, Andrew, takes people home to Heaven rather than killing them. The executives don’t seem to understand and Monica leaves the room in disgust. Monica runs into Irene, T.K. ‘s secretary as she is leaving to catch a bus. Irene tells her that T.K. once dreamed of being a writer and wrote a very good script.

Later, as Monica ruminates on how to approach T.K., Tess tells her to comfort him, that a bus was hi-jacked and blown up. T.K. responds to the tragedy by trying to cover his responsibility to the Board of Directors. Hoping to change the image of the network, he asks Monica to pitch him the angel show again. When he says the angels don’t have enough attitude, we see clips of Tess in action. When T.K. begins to complain about the whereabouts of Irene, Monica informs him that she was on the bus that was blown up. Crushed, T.K. throws everyone out of his office. Andrew hands Monica T.K. ‘s original script and tells her that Irene wanted T.K. to have it. When T.K. asks where the angels were for Irene, Monica tells him there are angels for everyone. We then see a series of guest angels. Monica tells T.K. that God exists, hands him his script and asks him to take a leap of faith and follow his dream of writing. T.K. then pitches his simple show about a family trying to live well to his fellow executives, refusing to take no for an answer.

Sara Parker, a successful big city district attorney, is forced to come to terms with her past when an ex-boyfriend, Jesse, is arrested and she must interrogate him. Rather than face Jesse, who still has some strange kind of hold over her, Sara retreats to a pub for some sanctuary. Monica, who is waiting tables at the bar while Tess serves drinks, offers to listen to Sara’s story. Sara is reluctant at first, but then proceeds to tell Monica her story of ten years ago: As a 17 year-old high schooler, Sara meets Jesse, a handsome troublemaker. Much to her mother’s disdain, Sara and Jesse fall in love and, when he suggests they move to California to start a new life, Sara agrees. Sara is worried when she finds a gun in Jesse’s glove compartment, but when Jesse says it’s for protection she’s too blinded by love to disagree.

Soon, however, their money runs out, their relationship sours, and to make matters worse Sara learns she is four months pregnant. In order to get some money Jesse robs a liquor store. Sara meets Andrew who, posing as a hitchhiker, tries to convince her to return home. Sara, unwilling to admit she has made a mistake, stays with Jesse. The baby is born at a motel and Sara names her Abby. Sara and Jesse meet Sam, posing as a motel owner, who lets them stay at his motel and offers to let Sara phone home. A furious Jesse refuses and storms out of the room. When he returns, Jesse is in a much better mood and explains to Sara that he met a man who sells babies on the black market, and who will give them $10,000 for Abby. Sara is horrified and rather than let this happen, she takes Abby while Jesse is asleep, and leaves her in a church sanctuary with a note. Sara has a change of heart and realizes she can’t leave her baby, but when she returns to the church Abby has already been taken.

When Sara goes back to Jesse he hits her and leaves. Sam takes care of Sara, helping her to get back on her feet, and ultimately through law school. Back in present-day, Sara admits to Monica that Sam was the closest thing to an angel she has ever known. Monica tells her that she’s right, that Sam is an angel, and that her, Tess, and Andrew are angels as well. Sara can’t believe that God can love her after all that she has done, but Monica reminds her of the story of the prodigal son and how God waits for his children to return. Sara admits that she wants to return both to God and to her home, and with this choice Jesse’s spell over her is broken. When she returns home, Sara’s mother is overjoyed, but tells her of a little girl named Abby, whom Andrew had brought to her ten years ago, after she was abandoned in a church. Having reunited Sara with both her mother and daughter, the angels drive off, their mission complete.

Charley, an aging south Texas motel owner, gets a Christmas Eve visit from Monica, who tells him not to fear, because she brings him tidings of great joy.  Charley in a drunken daze, thinks the beautiful glowing angel before him is merely a hallucination, and begins a dialogue with this “vision” as he decorates his Desert Star Inn for the holiday.  Monica tells Charley that he will receive a miracle this Christmas Eve, and he, somewhat skeptical, hypothesizes about what this will be.  He hopes it will be a new star, something he has been waiting quite a long time to see through his high-powered telescope from the roof of the inn.

Meanwhile, Tess serves coffee to three lonely truckers who celebrate the holiday at a truck stop.  As they leave, Tess points them to the inn, but the truckers muse at the thought of spending an evening at the dilapidated motel.  Elsewhere, Jorge and Marisol, a young Mexican couple, illegally across the border, panic when pregnant Marisol begins to show signs of an early labor.  Rafael arrives telling them that they are needed to help someone this evening.  When he says he is from their village in Mexico, they go with him.  In another part of the state Andrew sits on border patrol with Carl, a cynical deputy, who is anxious to catch some “illegals.”  Monica, still glowing atop the motel roof, stirs up a dust storm, which makes driving difficult for the truckers.

At Tess’ instruction via CB, they head towards a light in the desert, the light Monica exudes, and the only thing visible on the stormy landscape.  Rafael, Jorge, and Marisol, driving through the storm, run out of gas.  They, too, see the light and begin to follow it.  When the three arrive at the inn, Charley, obviously prejudiced against Mexicans, at first refuses to give them a room, and rather than call a doctor, he calls the border patrol.  Carl and Andrew head for the motel.  Charley reveals to Monica the reason why he is so bitter: as a young man he traveled in Mexico and fell in love with a young woman named Estrella, whose parents wouldn’t allow them to marry.  Later Estrella’s father told Charley that the heartbroken Estrella killed herself.  Charley tells Monica that he intends to do the same as soon as he sees a new star, something no one else has ever seen.  Monica pleads with Charley to do something that will “make the angels sing,” and become a man with faith in the God who loves him.  Marisol gives birth to the child as the truckers draw near, and Monica and Rafael proclaim this child to be the miracle, something which no man has ever seen.

The baby girl is named Estrella, after Marisol’s grandmother, the same woman Charley loved, who is alive and well in Mexico.  When Charley hears this news he has a change of heart and when Carl and Andrew arrive to arrest any illegal aliens, Charley hides everyone by working them into his nativity scene, including Tess as a shepherd and the truckers as the three wise men.  As Charley makes plans to visit his old love in Mexico, Monica and Tess bid everyone “Peace On Earth and Goodwill to Men.”

As part of his application to New York University, seventeen year-old Mark Tanner videotapes the morning coffee ritual that his parents, Scott and Michelle, began during his recovery from a recent drug addiction. Although all appears well, Andrew warns Tess and Monica not to waste any time with this case. Scott arrives at the police precinct where he is a hostage negotiator to meet his new partner, Monica, and invites her to dinner. When Scott is paged by the precinct during dinner, Michelle lashes out, blaming Scott for always choosing his work over his family.

Later, as Michelle rifles through her “Memory Box,” Mark enters. She shows him the wrist watch Scott gave her for their first anniversary but adds that he meant to have it engraved. When Mark asks if they are going to be okay after he goes off to college, she reassures him but her face registers doubt. As she exits, Mark finds divorce papers in the memory box and becomes angry with his mother. Later, while painting a portrait of her most recent client, Tess, Michelle confides that she had considered divorce earlier in their marriage and had not gotten rid of the divorce papers. Tess urges her to do so and she returns to the memory box to find that the watch she had shown Mark is now gone. Beginning to suspect that Mark may have stolen the watch to pay for drugs, her suspicions are further compounded when she interrupts him while he has a secretive phone conversation. Michelle then calls Scott to discuss her fears but he is interrupted by a hostage situation at a bank robbery. When the robbery is over, it is learned that Mark was killed by the robbery while trying to withdraw money from his college fund.

Desolate after losing their son, Scott and Michelle blame each other. When a message from a man named Ivan is found on Mark’s answering machine, both Scott and Michelle are convinced this person was Mark’s drug dealer and both become obsessed with finding the man while deciding to get a divorce. Tess and Monica then intervene by showing Scott and Michelle the videotape Mark had made and it turns out to be a plea for them to work out their problems. Andrew then arrives with Ivan who is not a drug dealer but rather a video editor.  Mark had taken his parents’ home videos to Ivan to have them edited together to show them how much love they truly have for one another.  Now understanding the error of their ways, Scott and Michelle vow to stay together.

When Andrew arrives in the court of Judge Dorrie Chapin to notify her that she is the governor’s first choice to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat, Dorrie and her ever-dependable mother, Emma, are overjoyed. Having met Tess while sitting in the gallery of her daughter’s courtroom, Emma invites Tess and Dorrie’s new assistant, Monica over for dinner to celebrate. Later that afternoon, Emma is the subject of show and tell in the classroom of Dorrie’s daughter, Jenny, and tells of her days as one of the only female pilots, the Lady Tigerettes, during World War II.

When Emma and Jenny get lost on the way home after leaving Jenny’s school, it is apparent that Emma is beginning to show the first signs of aging. The angels attempt to tell Dorrie that her mother is simply getting older but Dorrie is unwilling to accept that her steadfast mother is faltering. Dorrie tries to rationalize the situation, suggesting that her mother will be fine with lifestyle changes and vitamins until Emma falls asleep in the courtroom, waking to not recognize her own daughter. Tess again appeals to Dorrie, telling her that her mother still has important work to do. Dorrie then goes to her mother’s house to find her affairs in shambles; bills are unpaid, important prescriptions are unfilled and the insurance has lapsed. When Emma catches Dorrie snooping through her things, the issue comes out into the open and Emma reiterates what the angels had said earlier, she is getting older and simply can’t keep up anymore.

Still confused as to how she will cope without the support of her mother, Dorrie hears a custody case involving the welfare of an elderly man, Mr. Miller. After hearing his children argue over whether or not to put him in a nursing home, Mr. Miller appeals to them both to live their own lives and to visit him often. Dorrie then breaks down in her chambers as Andrew arrives to tell her that the governor needs to know if she will accept her appointment to the supreme court. Dorrie initially refuses the appointment, fearing that she simply cannot go on without her mother’s support. Emma is also resigned to give up all of her duties rather than just limiting her schedule.

The angels then reveal to both Emma and Dorrie, telling them to give up their fears of being alone, of growing old, of losing each other, because God will never leave either of them. Monica tells Emma that God has another task for her; together with the other surviving Flying Tigerettes, she is commissioned to share her wartime experiences so as to ensure against future wars. As Emma departs on her nationwide Tigerettes bus tour, Dorrie enters the Supreme Court where she will now serve proudly as a State Supreme Court Justice.

Monica, Tess, and Andrew celebrate Monica’s one-hundredth assignment with a cake in a park.  In the same park Audrey, a single mother who writes commercial jingles, celebrates her son Petey’s birthday.  Petey tries to blow out his candles but is racked with coughing, an effect of his disease, Cystic Fibrosis.  Monica arrives at Petey and Audrey’s home as a prospective border and she meets Celine, Petey’s best friend who is Celine Dion’s number one fan.  Celine introduces Monica to Audrey and Monica moves into their home.

Petey plays a song for Monica on tape that Audrey began to write when Petey was born but has since been unable to finish.  When he collapses on his way home from school, Petey is rushed to the hospital where, upon his release, he and Celine overhear some nurses saying he doesn’t have much time left to live.  Petey tells Audrey, who is having trouble accepting the fate of her little boy, that when he dies, he wants to die at home.  Petey, with Monica’s help, begins to compile a list of the things he wants to do before he dies.  His items include: Learn to play the piano, find a home for Fluffy (his pet iguana), find someone to sing with Mom, find someone to shovel the snow.

With Tess and Andrew’s help these things come to pass (Tess agrees to take care of the iguana).  Petey and the angels move on to the more tricky items on the list, including introducing Celine to the real Celine Dion.  Celine is blindfolded and taken to a concert hall to meet Celine Dion in her dressing room before the show.  Celine Dion tells Petey and Celine, who is in shock, that she will sing a special song for them.  Later during the concert she sings “Love Can Move Mountains” to the children.  At the end of the concert Petey becomes very sick and, at the hospital, Audrey comes to the realization that Petey will soon die.

Celine, with Tess’ help, resolves to help make it possible for Petey to die at home, another item on his list, and they visit the HMO in hopes of getting a medical waiver allowing this.  When they are denied Tess demands to see the manager, who happens to be Celine’s father.  When he says he cannot make an exception to a rule, even for Petey, Celine returns to his office in a gown and pearls, and sings “Love Can Move Mountains.”  She pleads with her father to prove he loves Petey and he pulls some strings.  Petey is brought home and, while he sleeps, Audrey discovers his list, including the wish that Audrey would finish her song.  Audrey tries to finish the song, but breaks down in tears when she can’t get past the first verse.

Monica reveals herself to Audrey, comforts her, and asks her to tell the whole world about Petey’s love with her song.  Audrey works all night to finish the song, and in the morning wakes Petey, telling him to cross that item off his list.  Petey is taken outside to find many neighbors gathered to perform Audrey’s finished song, “The 151st Psalm,” the main chorus of which proclaims, “For as long as I shall live I will testify to love!”  Petey tells Andrew, “It is finished,” and the young boy dies as the crowd continues to sing his song.  Monica crosses the final item off of Petey’s list: “Go to Heaven.”