A demon is summoned to take the soul of a young boy who has the potential to become a saint. By doing this he will open a doorway to hell and destroy the world.

An autistic child growing up in the 1940's and 50's with a mother who is bitter because her fear of success has denied to herself a possible career in opera. This anger translates into an over-protectiveness of her mentally ill daughter, even into the child's adulthood. But a loving sister, herself having an arm that is paralyzed, is a bastion against the limitations imposed by the mother and finally helps her sister to live a more full life.

A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

Russell Gates (David Strahairn) is a Vietnam vet on death row for killing a policeman. His childhood sweetheart, Pam O'Brien (Sissy Spacek), is stunned to learn this and does not believe he could commit such a crime. She writes to him much to the dismay of her husband Keith and becomes obsessed with the case, exploring every avenue that may still be open to the doomed man. The trips to the prison take a toll on both her marriage and her family.

A 12-year-old boy and his older brother have just lost their dad. At their summer cottage, the younger boy befriends a black doctor who has to deal with local prejudice and racism.

Amy thinks her father has bought her the perfect gift: a new ventriloquist's dummy. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is more to this dummy than meets the eye.