Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is about to turn 65. He is a rich man who loves his family and has everything going for him. So it's no surprise that when Death comes for him, he is in disbelief. He dismisses it as a hallucination, though he remains spooked about the whole incident. Death assumes the body, form, and identity of a recently deceased person, Joe Black (Brad Pitt). Joe Black intends to show up, take Bill, and bring him back to the afterlife with him, but that changes when he meets Bill's beautiful daughter Susan (Claire Forlani). The two are drawn to each other and it changes all Joe's plans.