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Tess and Monica arrive
in Montana to help the elderly Annie Doyle reconcile her life before
she loses her failing eyesight. Offering to help Annie with her
daily errands, Monica escorts her to the weekly bingo game at church
where Annie admits that the only reason she plays bingo is to “tick
off” her nosy neighbors, Emily, Russell and Markus. After
winning at bingo, Annie and Monica return to the house where Emily
explains that she has always wanted to see Venice. Monica thinks
this is her mission and offers to take Annie to Venice but not before
Annie realizes that her sight is finally gone. Dr. Waldron
arrives to say that Annie has been losing her sight for a long time
but, like the other townspeople, he seems unsympathetic. Crushed
by the loss of her eyesight, Annie tells Monica to get out of her
house. Tess encourages Monica, explaining that God wants Annie
to see the truth about her life. Monica returns to Annie and
asks to be her friend. Annie then explains that her husband,
Tommy, died the day after they were married thirty-five years earlier
and the town has blamed her for his death ever since. Annie met
Tommy while the town was financing his medical schooling. Tommy
promised to return to the town and practice medicine, but he was
bitter and did not want to live in such a backward area. On the
day of the wedding, Annie and Tommy wrecked the car into the local
river and Tommy saw the chance to escape his duty by faking his death.
He vowed to keep contact with Annie, leaving her in town to verify the
story. After a few correspondences, Tommy stopped writing and
Annie was left to deal with the town. Annie knew how much the
town had favored Tommy and did not want to reveal him for the
scoundrel he was. As a result, the town had blamed her for his
death and even questioned whether or not she had orchestrated the
accident. The truth finally known, the angels then confront the
townspeople, enlisting them to help ensure that Annie's dream of
seeing Venice would become a reality. With the angels help, the
townspeople recreate the sounds and smells of Venice in the local YMCA
pool and Monica shows Annie to her gondola where she is transported,
if only in her mind, to the Venice of her dreams.
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