The mayor of a small New York town struggles to find the Christmas spirit after news arrives that her son's music teacher was a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The angels try to get a hack TV director, who now airs adult fare on the local station he's worked at for 50 years, to make good on his promise to use television for noble purposes.
Laura is a working mother who wants to spend more time with her daughter Kelsey. When Kelsey's father files for joint custody, Laura is forced to take Kelsey to Texas, where she confronts the lifestyle and father she left behind.
Having run away from a succession of foster homes, a 12-year-old girl resorts to desperate measures to stay with the eccentric retired teacher who's made her feel like she's finally in the place where she belongs.
When Leah's husband Benjamin dies suddenly, Benjamin's brother Jake is stunned to learn he is expected to marry Leah to carry on the name. Jake suggests to Leah that they get married and maintain a secretly platonic relationship.