The countdown to the year 2000 affects people in different ways—some are curious, others anxious, and still others panic. Amid this atmosphere of uncertainty, a quiet solitary man comes again to the tiny town of Auburn. This carpenter, known as Joshua, first arrived nearly two decades earlier and transformed everyone with his words of peace and actions of love. However, in the years since he left, many of his friends have died and a generation has grown up not knowing him. Now, with the new millennium on the horizon, Joshua reassures everyone by reminding them of the lessons he shared with them years before. He explains that God is love, not some monster who waits for people to make one false move and then punishes them. But when an immense earthquake strikes just before the new year, and other "signs of the apocalypse" seem to abound, Joshua realizes that his wisdom must reach beyond this small town in order to help people throughout the world.