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A timid baker named
Matt Coletti is closing up his bakery one evening when two white men
attack his black assistant in the street. Matt witnesses the
crime but is too frightened to come forward. Tess tells Monica
that it is their job to help him make a stand against the criminals,
members of a white supremacist group. Andrew poses as a
representative of the state attorney's office, asking questions about
the incident, trying to determine if it was a simple robbery attempt
or a hate crime. Monica is hired as Matt's new assistant
and dons an apron. Matt goes to the local church where Tess, the
visiting preacher, unveils a beautiful new stained glass window which
Matt has financed. The next day the two criminals show up at the
bakery to ensure that Matt remains quiet about the incident, but a
young mechanic named Derek threatens them and they leave the store
without a fight. When a swastika-covered rock is thrown through
the stained glass church window, it is a sign that the community must
take action. A town meeting is held and the people decide to
form a community group to respond to the crimes, but Derek, reminding
the group of the risks this could entail, convinces them to give up
the idea. Matt, under pressure from Tess to finally admit his
role as a witness to the crime, tells the people his story.
Matt, in fact, had seen three people the night of the beating, the two
white men and another figure riding in the backseat of the mens' car,
a figure Matt realizes was the devil himself. Of course no one
believes Matt, not even his wife and the two separate. To make
matters worse a bomb explodes in the bakery, and Matt, though not
hurt, laments the loss of his reputation, family, and business.
Monica, Tess, and Andrew reveal themselves to Matt, and explain that
God wants to use him as a prophet who will lead the townspeople
against the satanic forces in the town. Matt rises to the
challenge and rallies the people to confront the physical
manifestation of the devil, Derek, and the two criminals.
Matthew breaks a loaf of bread and passes it among the group, and vows
never to be frightened by the devil again nor to give in to his own
prejudices. The two men are arrested and the devil, defeated by
Matt's moral stand, disappears.
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