Henry Poole moves in to a house in his old neighborhood, to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a miracle by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.

In a working class neighborhood in Los Angeles, a world-weary Henry Poole buys a house, caring little about its lack of amenities. He drinks and eats pizza. Recent stucco work has left a brown stain in a patio wall, and to Henry's irritation, Esperanza, a neighbor, is certain she can see the face of Jesus in the stain. She brings her priest, then others. Meanwhile, Henry hears his conversations replayed over the fence in another neighbor's yard: it's Millie, about 7, mute, clutching a tape recorder. He tells Millie's mom why he's sad and angry. The face on the wall seems to shed a tear of blood. Is Henry beyond feeling any emotion?—<[email protected]>

Having been diagnosed as terminally ill, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) purchases a stucco tract house in his hometown, a working-class suburb of Los Angeles, and awaits the inevitable, fortified with whiskey and frozen pizza. His peaceful solitude and self-imposed exile are disrupted by his meddling neighbor Esperanza Martinez (Adriana Barraza), who insists she sees the face of Christ embedded in the stucco wall of his home and is convinced the image has miraculous powers when it begins to exude drops of blood. Before long, she is leading pilgrimages to his backyard and inviting Father Salazar (George Lopez) from the local parish to bless the supposedly sacrosanct blemish. To Henry, the image is a water stain. In addition to dealing with Esperanza, Henry finds himself interacting with Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and her taciturn six-year-old daughter Millie (Morgan Lily), who hasn't spoken a word since her father abandoned the family a year earlier. Dawn becomes convinced of the image's healing powers when Millie begins to talk after touching it. Another disciple is supermarket cashier Patience (Rachel Seiferth), who wears thick glasses and discovers her vision is perfect after she too comes in contact with the stain. When Henry learns that Millie has gone silent after learning of his terminal illness while eavesdropping on his conversation with her mother, he resolves to remove the stain and disabuse the faithful of what he believes to be misplaced belief. Henry destroys the image with an axe and in the process destroys his house. With the structure weakened, a corner of the house collapses on him. The film ends with Henry recovering in the hospital. Upon awakening in his hospital bed, he is greeted by Esperanza, Dawn and a talking Millie, who inform him that he is no longer ill. Surprised and rejuvenated, he finds himself ready to accept hope and belief and even the possibility of miracles.