Joan Girardi is an average teenager living in the town of Arcadia. However, she soon discovers that she's much more when another teenager comes up to her and says that he's God. God continues to appear to Joan, each time wearing a different body, and has different missions for Joan to undertake.
Sixteen year old Joan Girardi is approached by someone claiming to be God. He gives her a mission, get a job. Will Girardi, Joan's dad and new Chief of Police for Arcadia, is trying to solve the case of a serial killer.
Joan heeds God's advice to stop squandering her potential by enrolling in an advanced-placement chemistry class. There, she's partnered with two of the school's biggest underachievers. Elsewhere, Will is frustrated when a murder trail goes cold due to an arson investigator's overly-thorough examination of the crime scene; and Helen is eager for Kevin to get a car after he passes his driver's ed test.
God encourages Joan to learn how to play chess; Will must work with a psychic on a missing toddler case; Helen hopes a miracle will enable Kevin to walk again.
Helen questions her daughter's sanity when, like Noah, Joan builds a boat; and Will faces second-guessing from his rank and file for refusing to connect the murder of one cop to the slaying of another within the same week. Meanwhile, Kevin struggles with feelings of bitterness when he's encouraged to join a wheelchair-basketball team.
God asks Joan to hold a yard sale. When Will gets involved in a rape case, Helen is reminded of an unpleasant event from her past. Meanwhile Kevin gets a job as a fact-checker at a local paper but reacts badly when he overhears some of the staff discussing him (& his disability), and a cool, popular radio DJ from high school flirts with Joan.
God suggests that Joan try out for cheer leading. Will looks for a mother who abandoned her baby in a dumpster. When leads point to Joan's high school, Helen is asked to copy and distribute a list of "bad girls" composed by the vice-principal and she gets involved as well. Meanwhile, Luke stresses over whether his being attracted to a girl who's commonly thought to be a lesbian might mean that he's gay.
God asks Joan to be on the lookout for people needing help and she ends up babysitting for an over-stressed waitress struggling with her job, a death-obsessed child and night-school. Meanwhile Will is dealing with the fall-out from a possible case of police brutality, Helen talks to a priest about grieving, and Joan learns why Adam hates November.
God asks Joan to keep Adam's work out of the school art show but Joan is clueless as to how. Was it really God? Meanwhile Will is considering whether or not the shooter of an armed burglar should be brought to trial, and the question reawakens some of his past feelings surrounding his shooting of a bank robber.
God asks Joan to ace her history test - on Joan of Arc. In doing so, Joan is accused of cheating (she's usually a C student) and Grace starts a revolution on her behalf. Meanwhile, the family go to a counselor as Will's job is becoming increasingly stressful.
God tells Joan to take her driving test. Meanwhile Will Girardi follows through on his new "no tolerance" policy and Helen takes a pregnancy test.
God seems to be playing matchmaker when he encourages Joan to ask a school ruffian to the winter semi formal. Joan's date choice doesn't sit well with her parents, however, especially after Will learns the boy has a juvenile record. Will's also digging up some distressing information about his predecessor as chief of police, who, it turns out, is still cashing a paycheck under another person's name. Meanwhile, Luke looks forward to entering this year's science fair with Grace Polk as his partner.
Joan is saddened when she learns Rocky ("Death Be Not Whatever") has passed away, causing her to further question God about life and death. Will loses his job when his discovery and public revelation of the town's political corruption causes the city government (including the police department) to be dissolved by the State Governor. Luke continues to work on his science fair project and his growing attraction to Grace, while Kevin is injured in a game of wheelchair basketball.
At Helen's insistence, she and Will take a getaway to a spa, but all does not go well when Will cannot forget about his job. And with the parents away, the kids are up to a little recreation of their own. Kevin and his boss, Rebecca, find it hard to ignore their mutual attraction; Joan, as she is trying to sort out her feelings for Adam, is instructed by God to throw a party while her parents are away; Luke helps Joan pull off a successful party.
Joan is less than pleased with her latest heavenly assignment, which finds her partnered on the debate team with a severe stutterer, and arguing in favor of the unpopular installation of metal detectors at school. Meanwhile, Will investigates the vicious beating of a minister, Helen tries to come up with a good candidate for art teacher, and Kevin accepts an invitation from Rebecca for dinner at her place.
Joan is excited about going to a White Stripes concert with Adam, but the thrill is gone after he becomes infatuated with a girl in his art class. Elsewhere, Will is already operating on a dangerously short fuse when he loses his composure over an unwanted work assignment, and Kevin receives pointers about maintaining a sex life, while Luke acts resentful of his older brother's returning confidence.
Joan jumps into the pastime of double dutch and befriends a 16-year-old girl who has fallen on hard times; Helen wounds Adam's ego with her constructive critique of his art project; Kevin is assigned to interview an attractive musical therapist who works with autistic children. Also, before Will gets taken off desk duty and put back on the street his therapist strongly suggests that he participate in Bring Your Kids to Work Day.
Joan wants revenge after classmates humiliate her by circulating an inadvertently snapped photo of her changing for gym, but God suggests the teen relieve her frustration by joining the school band and playing percussion. Meanwhile, Will's back on active duty investigating a 72-year-old man whose car plowed through a crowded farmers' market, killing six; and Helen's paintings are on exhibit.
Joan feels that growing up is "a black hole of never-ending worry and responsibility" as she tends to a sick Luke, makes dinner, studies for tests and helps Adam set up for his first art show. Also, Will gets stuck in an elevator with an embezzler and a very pregnant woman; and Kevin believes he is experiencing "feelings" in his stomach.
Joan's trying to figure out how she can pass math when God tells her to take piano lessons from a teacher (Louise Fletcher) who may be the crankiest woman in Arcadia. Meanwhile, the teen learns a family secret that her father has kept hidden for years.
When Joan complains that everyone has something they're good at except her, God sends her to the yearbook staff to help out.
God gets Joan to take a class on cosmetology where she gets a good foundation on the principles of self-concept and esteem, leading her to renounce makeup and regular bathing. Meanwhile, Kevin reunites with a former girlfriend.
When God tells Joan to give Adam a gift and she subsequently finds a condom in Adam's backpack, she wonders if God wants her to give sex as the gift, and she considers taking this next step in their relationship.
In the first-season finale, a sick and feverish Joan is confused when God visits her in more incarnations than usual and delivers several contradictory messages. Meanwhile, Helen and Will each have strange yet spiritual experiences that cause them to ponder their faith.
As the second season begins, Joan returns from summer therapy following what she perceived as hallucinations and refuses to discuss the "`G' word" with Adam. Meanwhile, Helen is considering coming back to the Catholic faith; and Will is losing his faith especially as he's sued by the family of the boy who paralyzed Kevin.
Joan, still keeping her distance from God, reconnects with her best friend from Gentle Acres camp, a wired teen now going to Arcadia High who can't seem to win over Joan's friends. Meanwhile, Helen continues her inquiry into spiritual issues, and Will is troubled by a case involving the shooting of a child.
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As part of a physics project, Joan decides to plant a garden "in the rankest place" in school to see if it can survive, and the experiment elicits varying responses from her friends. Meanwhile, Will and Helen shield Kevin from the details of the lawsuit.
While visiting, Helen's eccentric, world-traveling Aunt Olive (Cloris Leachman) has a stroke and moves in with the Girardis to recuperate. Meanwhile, God asks Joan to care for a feral cat and Will asks Internal Affairs to investigate possible corruption in the precinct.
God gets Joan involved in the student-body presidential elections and Joan campaigns for the underdog, but soon finds herself wanting to win at all costs, even if it means playing dirty.
Joan helps Helen at a church clothing drive and finds a way to help the poor and make some money for herself and Judith, but the scheme jeopardizes the drive. Meanwhile, Lucy (Annie Potts) shows interest in Will's lawsuit.
God appears to Joan as a filmmaker and encourages her to make a videography of her life for public TV, but her new perspective leads her to misinterpret a moment between Adam and Judith. Meanwhile, Will and Kevin hire a cutthroat lawyer (Evan Handler) without consulting Helen, who has a secret of her own.
Joan is stressed as she and Adam prepare for their first official date at an upscale restaurant. Meanwhile, Grace and Luke can't agree on the best way to spend the evening and go their separate ways, only to end up missing each other.
Depositions are taken in the lawsuit against the Girardis, dredging up emotional issues for the family, especially for Will and Helen, who are confronted with the animosity they felt toward each another at the time of Kevin's accident. Meanwhile, Price does his darndest to squelch the already fragile Joan's hope for a bright academic future; Luke's wish for his 16th birthday is to have dinner with Grace.
Joan is on a quest to help Grace survive her bat mitzvah, beginning with a shopping trip for an appropriate dress to wear for the occasion. At the same time, Luke is at a loss for a gift to offer his sweetheart on her big day. Meanwhile, Will investigates Judith's stabbing death, and Kevin offers Beth (Kimberly McCullough) encouragement as she prepares to testify in the case against his family.
God's vague instruction to do something that scares her leads Joan to try out for the school diving team, as does Luke, who is determined to impress Grace with an act of bravery. Meanwhile, Helen would like all of her children to proceed with more caution, and Will follows up on a lead in Judith's murder case.
As Joan debates whether she should continue her education past high school, God points her in the direction of a handsome and supportive college-age tutor. Meanwhile, Helen and Will are at odds over his working with Lucy and her religious conversion; Kevin's romantic future with Beth (Kimberly McCullough) is in doubt.
Joan receives heavenly encouragement from God when she auditions for an overly ambitious director's school play about young zombies in love. In other developments, Kevin is leery of Andy's offer to drop the lawsuit; and Luke's bond with Glynis (Mageina Tovah) over science unleashes feelings of jealousy in Grace.
Joan acts like a Good Samaritan and in return becomes somewhat of a local celebrity after she puts herself in harm's way to help save the life of a snooty classmate (Hilary Duff), who rewards Joan's heroism by becoming her way-too-clingy friend. Meanwhile, Kevin sees an opportunity to get himself on TV by telling his sister's story. Also, Will decides to dig deeper to determine what lengths Lucy would go to please him.
As Valentine's Day approaches, Joan worries that her romance with Adam could be sabotaged by his "perky blonde assistant" (Haylie Duff). Meanwhile, God tells Joan to familiarize herself with the poetry of the Romantic movement; Kevin keeps it a secret from Helen that he's going out with her ex-nun pal Lilly (Constance Zimmer); and Will debates whether to inform his wife of his problems with Lucy.
Joan feels that she's old enough to make her own decisions when she prepares to defy Helen's authority and go on an overnight trip with Adam. Meanwhile, it's clear that Stevie likes Friedman, but Luke has trouble understanding why his friend doesn't seem to reciprocate the feeling. Also, Kevin tries to help Andy put the accident behind him and get on with his life.
Joan makes a puzzling discovery about Stevie (Haylie Duff) as she tries to help the girl obtain a Social Security number, despite the fact that Stevie's mother has expressly forbidden her daughter from getting a job. At the same time, Joan's taking flack from Adam for telling Helen the intimate details of their love life. Meanwhile, Kevin is offered a job in the TV-news biz, but is wary of the assignment because it involves his disability.
Joan debates whether to take the next step in her relationship with Adam, while also facing the consequences of being framed---by God---for egging Mr. Price's car: a weekend of community service supervised by Lilly Waters (Constance Zimmer). Also, Luke feels like he has suffered an injustice by not being awarded a science prize; while Helen considers what to do after the school board cuts the art program's budget.
A school assignment gets uncomfortably personal for Joan when she's chosen to play the role of prosecutor in a mock trial based on the children's story "Jack and the Beanstalk." On the side of the defense is Grace, who's representing an ill-at-ease Adam in the part of Jack. In other events, Helen is troubled that Kevin is dating Lilly (Constance Zimmer); and an 8-year-old girl's murder appears to be an open-and-shut case for Will.
Instead of venting her romantic woes, Joan throws her energy into spring cleaning, which proves more than just therapeutic when it leads to the discovery that somebody at school needs her help. Joan's relationship problems cause Luke to feel insecure about his future with Grace, but then she surprises him with an ultra-cool gift; Kevin considers moving into his own apartment, an idea that upsets Helen.
Adam needs Joan to be there for him as a friend, but she finds it difficult to forgive and forget the hurt he has caused her. Helen's in a similar, albeit far more serious, situation when the man who raped her 25 years ago attempts to meet with her and personally apologize before he dies of cancer. Meanwhile, Luke disapproves of Friedman's pot-smoking, that is, until he considers marijuana use from a scientific perspective.
Joan is seeing and talking to dead people, including her deceased friend Judith (Sprague Grayden), who tells Joan to prepare for a test. Joan's family and loved ones start to wonder whether the high-schooler is losing it again, but Helen is left to question her own sanity after she too has a ghostly encounter. Meanwhile, Ryan Hunter, the young man who saved Adam's life, is becoming a constant, uncomfortable presence.