Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is a multi-millionaire media tycoon as well as a loving, caring single parent who is about to celebrate his 65th birthday.
However death puts a dampener on the run up to his celebration by entering his life, first as a voice in Bill's head and then in the body of a recently killed young man, Joe Black (Brad Pitt).
The purpose of this visitation is to use Bill as a means to learn about what it is like to be alive and in return extend Bill's life until Death has learn't what he wants to learn.
However Bill's daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani), and the man whose body Death now inhabits have already met and have connected in an intense way that she tries to rekindle on their meeting again.
Now Joe begins to develop an interest in life on Earth as well as in Bill's daughter who has no idea who she is flirting with.
This 1998 version is a remake of the 1934 film "Death Takes a Holiday" starring Fredric March and Guy Standing.