A car accident reunites an ill-fated ex-con with a mournful banker and gives him an opportunity to seek forgiveness from her for murdering her son 23 years ago. In time, she manages to let go her inhibitions to become an unlikely mother figure for him in his darkest hours.

SYNOPSIS:

Asif Karim, an African-American ex-con turned carpenter in his early 40’s, is a faithful Muslim living with H.I.V. His heart’s desires are displayed in magazine and newspaper cutouts plastered all over a corkboard he has hanging on his wall. But the desire that eludes him the most is finding love. Every time he comes close to doing so, the woman learns about his past and leaves him.

On the other side of town, Angela Oliver, an African-American banking executive in her 60’s, survived the loss of her son 25 years prior and her husband only 8 years ago. Now her daughter Simone and her young family, the only family Angela has left, are moving to South Africa and Angela doesn’t know how to deal with it. She copes by resorting to hostility, being resentful towards Simone, mean to others and having a nice bottle of wine ever so often.

However, Angela’s methods of coping backfires and she ends up unconscious in a car accident. Asif was nearby and hurries to her aid, only to realize he knows her. She recovers in the hospital with only a broken wrist but never saw the man she heard was being attentive to her in her state of unconsciousness. It’s when he shows up at her job she sees him, the man who murdered her son 25 years ago. This is his inescapable past and his sudden arrival turns her world upside down. She angrily makes him leave and discovers he came looking to reconcile with her.

Angela deplores the idea of reconciliation but Simone views it differently, agreeing to delay her move to Africa if her mother agrees to meet with Asif. Angela reluctantly concedes to sessions supervised by her therapist friend, but doesn’t fully cooperate with the process. This frustrates Simone and discourages Asif as Angela makes it difficult for him. She eventually quits on the process and Simone leaves with her family to South Africa on schedule, and Angela is left heartbroken.

Meanwhile, Asif courts a woman named Milagros Del Caro, a recently divorced mother of two. They met when he defended her from her abusive ex-husband Jésus. Getting Milagros to accept him despite his crime and his H.I.V. status poses a serious challenge. Nevertheless, his persistence, honesty and generosity coupled with his genuine regret for his past eventually wins her over.

Ultimately, a tragedy close to home leaves both Angela and Asif devastated. He is affected the most and suddenly spirals downward into self-destructive behavior. Angela realizes her culpability in his misery and, through guilt, tries to help him in his time of need. But in doing so, she lets go of all inhibitions and acts on unconscious desires she had lying dormant in her since her son died so long ago – mothering a son.