When jaded journalists Frank (William Hurt) and Huey (Robert Pastorelli), along with "angel expert" Dorothy (Andie MacDowell), travel to a small town in Iowa to investigate a story, they find Michael (John Travolta), a disheveled man claiming to be an angel. But Michael is less than angelic: he drinks, smokes and basks in the attention of women. As the group travels to Chicago, Michael teaches them about relationships, faith and miracles, suggesting that he may be exactly whom he says he is.