An anthology film and friendship tale that takes place in St. Louis in the late 1980s during the height of the AIDS crisis. The story follows a man who has just found out one of his friends is HIV positive — a death sentence that, back then, usually meant the person had about twelve months to live. The main character goes on a game show in order to raise money for a car to drive his friend to Mexico where he can receive a popular, but later proven ineffective, treatment for the virus.

A reclusive, depressed recent widower reluctantly agrees to give a neighborhood boy violin lessons, which leads to an unlikely friendship that will unexpectedly change both lives.