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Apprenticed to Jordan
Du Bois, a violin maker, Monica must ensure he finishes a violin he
started 30 years earlier on the Christmas Day his son was born. The
unsuspecting father doesn't realize Tony has come home for the
holidays with a devastating secret, which the angel soon learns: Tony
has AIDS and has returned home to die. The truth comes out while
father and son indulge in a late- night snack. Disappointed, Jordan
distances himself from Tony. Discovering the unfinished violin he had
started those years ago, Monica learns that Tess had revealed herself
to the violin maker back then. She announced his son's impending birth
and also gave him a piece of wood. But Jordan never completed the
instrument because a flaw in the grain had appeared when he started
planing the wood. Showing Monica the scrap heap where imperfect wood
is discarded, Tony confronts his father, who disowns him. After his
health takes a turn for the worse, Tony enters an AIDS hospice on
Christmas Eve. His mother, Willa and sister, Nora attempt to persuade
Jordan to visit with them but are unsuccessful. Later that evening,
the dying attorney hears carols down the hall and tells his hospice
worker, Tess he would like to see an angel. She reveals herself,
saying he has not disappointed God, but he panics, thinking the
revelation is a morphine-induced hallucination. Back at the workshop,
Monica appeals to the violin maker to reconcile with Tony and is
joined by a passionate Andrew. Jordan's response is to smash the
violin. Tess then admonishes the Angel of Death not to judge the
violin maker, just as he should not judge Tony. Monica reveals herself
to Jordan, telling him God accepts Tony for who he is and urging him
to do likewise. Miraculously, the ruined violin is restored, and the
violin maker takes it with him to the hospice. After reconciling with
his estranged son, Jordan picks up the instrument, and the blemish in
the wood transforms into the shape of a Christmas tree. He plays a
lullaby as Tony succumbs to his illness and is greeted by Andrew
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