In a previous episode of
"Promised Land," Joe Greene caused the death of a father and son in
an automobile accident. In this two-part crossover episode with the
cast of Promised Land, the angels arrive to help the surviving wife
and son.
As the one year anniversary of
Joe's tragic car accident approaches, the Greene family is in
Springville. After seeing Joe depart for Turkey where he is intent
on working, Russell is eager to get back on the road while Claire
has a sense that she has work still to do in Springville. As strange
letters begin to arrive for Joe, Claire volunteers to teach reading
on death row at the local prison and meets Darlene, a young woman
convicted of killing a man while on a drug-crazed binge. As Claire
and Dinah try to help Darlene come to terms with her daughter and
mother before she is executed, the angels learn that the letters to
Joe have been sent by Sandra Mills, who is abusing alcohol and
neglecting her son, Matthew, in the aftermath of her husbands death
at Joe's hand.
Tess works as
an efficiency consultant at Sandra's office and tries to convince
her to stop drinking and face her grief but Sandra is soon fired for
drinking on the job. Meanwhile, Monica is Matthew's teacher and
tries to help Matthew as his mother's drinking problem worsens. As
the date of Darlene's execution approaches, Claire and Dinah
convince her of the need to reconcile with her daughter and mother.
Much less able to deal with her own grief, Sandra ignores the pleas
of Monica and continues to drink and Matthew is near fatally wounded
in a gas explosion. Sandra then writes another threatening letter to
Joe Greene. Part one concludes as Sandra kidnaps Nathaniel at
gunpoint, threatening to kill him if her own son does not survive
the explosion.
