A motley group of angels spend their free time smoking, drinking and gambling between offering people who die unexpectedly the chance to relive their last 24 hours on earth.

SYNOPSIS:

Madeline is an angel - an "eternal immortal" - who is in love with the entire human experience and as such, her deepest, most secret desire is to become one. In an effort to move closer towards her dream, she persuades the higher power to allow her to start a pilot program called Last Day, which gives humans who die suddenly and without warning, the chance to relive their last 24 hours on earth, with Madeline on hand to shepherd them to the other side. Though their death cannot be stopped, these mortals are extended one last shot to break through the weight of the everyday and experience life as a singular, defining moment; the chance to right a wrong, say "I love you", or fulfill a lost dream.

Madeline is given a few fellow angels, some of which were human before, to help launch her program with the understanding if anything goes wrong, the program will end, meaning the end of everything Madeline holds dear. The angels, now known as "Shepherds" make their home upon a hilltop, high above the city and include Luke, a prior mortal with a love of cigars, who has a secret of his own - he has been in love with Madeline for centuries. As a reward for their service, each Shepherd is allowed to choose one human pleasure, except for sex, to indulge in, which they wager in their weekly poker game.

Last Day starts with Madeline losing a round of "rock, paper scissors" to Luke, meaning she has to train the new recruit, Rafael. They are assigned to shepherd Marilyn, who dies in an explosion in her husband Denny's art studio. Those passing on are aware it's their last 24 hours but they cannot share this information with anyone, not even their closest loved ones, otherwise their time ends immediately, so Madeline and Rafael must stay on hand for the entire day to make sure everything goes according to plan.

Though any contact with a mortal not being shepherded is strictly forbidden, Madeline finds herself immediately drawn to Denny and so she makes a dangerous promise to Marilyn to look after him when Marilyn is gone. As the Shepherds follow Marilyn and Denny through their final hours together, with Luke tagging along to be close to Madeline, he begins to sense something is different about this assignment for her. Though he would never admit it, in the end there isn't anything Luke wouldn't do for Madeline, including saving her from herself in order to continue the Last Day program and the chance for them to both get what they want.