Tommy O'Neill still believes that his father-killed when his B26 was shot down in the Battle of Midway in 1942-is not completely dead. Even though Tommy is now eight and it's been four years, his heart tells him that unless he can somehow touch his father "up in the sky" his daddy will never be "alldead." Tommy is determined to find a way and eventually fixes on the wooden water tower atop his New York City apartment building as a way to find the hole in the sky through which his father vanished. He meets Mike Murphy, a fireman who is struggling with his own death demons from the war. He befriends Tommy, teaches him how to play baseball, goes to dinner at Tommy's and takes him to his family's Sunday meal, both producing hilarious scenes of class misfits. Mike tries to help Tommy understand what happens when a person dies. Yet, he's not so sure himself. Together, they set out to find out about "afterdeath" so they can lay their dead to rest once and for all.