A long-running live radio show is in danger of being canceled by the new owners. The company owns both the radio station "WLT" and the theater where the show is broadcast. The movie takes place on the night of the show's last performance. The show has two visitors. The first is an angel calling herself Asphodel (Virginia Madsen). She comes to comfort the people who work on the show and to escort one of them to the afterlife. The other visitor is "the Axeman" (Tommy Lee Jones). He is the representative of the new owners who arrives to decide whether the show should be canceled. He makes it clear that the show is not what he considers modern popular programming. Although he too is escorted by the angel, the show is shut down anyway. In an at the end of the movie, the former cast members are reunited at Mickey's Diner. Their conversation pauses as they are joined by Asphodel.