After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George's wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed and impacted, and how they would be different if he was never there.
When the draft selects rock star Conrad Birdie, his fans are devastated, but none more than struggling songwriter Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke), whose song Birdie was just about to record. Albert's longtime girlfriend, Rosie (Janet Leigh), pushes Albert to write a new tune that Birdie will perform on television to a fan selected in a contest. The scheme works, with young Ohio teenager Kim McAfee (Ann-Margret) declared the winner, but no one has counted on the jealous wrath of her boyfriend.
