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Andrew helps
an older man, Doug, clean out his garage, searching for a box he
wants to give to his daughter, Natalie. Doug has a heart attack,
and as he is dying, Andrew assures him that God's angels will be
on hand to deliver the box to Natalie. When Natalie, a stand-up
comic, hears of Doug's death, she returns home with her infant
daughter Lily to organize her father's things. Natalie begins to
have flashbacks about her deceased mother, and how when Natalie
was young, she would play the piano incessantly. Andrew tries to
persuade Natalie to help him clean the garage and find the box,
but she is unwilling to go into the garage. To get a break from
her intense memories, Natalie goes to a comedy club to perform.
Meanwhile, at a local hospital, Monica and Tess talk about how
Natalie will react to learning her father's secret -- that Amanda,
her mother, is not dead, but has been institutionalized for many
years. Natalie, indeed, is shocked to learn this and that Amanda,
after a slow recovery from mental illness, is almost ready to
return home. Natalie goes to the hospital to meet Amanda, who
convinced herself Natalie was dead, and, though she doesn't
realize Natalie is her daughter, the visit makes her very nervous
and she begins to play the piano feverishly. This frightens
Natalie and she quickly leaves the hospital. Back at the garage,
Natalie discovers the box, which contains a metronome. As the
metronome begins to tick, Natalie accidentally closes the garage
door, triggering a horrifying memory about how, when she was
seven, Amanda locked Natalie and herself in the garage with the
motor running. By the time Andrew arrives Natalie fully recollects
that her mother tried to kill her.
Monica explains Amanda's illness -- how
after she lost a baby Amanda blamed herself to the point of
illness, and how she wanted to die, but didn't want to leave
Natalie behind. Natalie returns to the hospital and with the
angels' help, convinces Amanda that she is still alive. Overjoyed,
Amanda moves to hug Natalie, but Natalie, unable to handle the
emotion, flees to the comedy club. While onstage, though, Natalie
has a nervous breakdown. Monica reveals herself to be an angel,
and comforts Natalie, telling her that God loves her, and that she
must break down the fake life she has created to protect herself,
before God can help her build a new life. Natalie admits her fear
-- that she inherited her mother's illness. She was scared to love
her own baby -- now she knows why. Later, Natalie, recuperating at
the hospital from the breakdown, performs her stand-up routine for
the other patients while Amanda watches proudly. Natalie
introduces Amanda to her granddaughter and tells her mother that
she inherited something very important from her -- her sense of
humor.
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