A street-wise teen from Baltimore travels to New York City to spend Christmas with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising journey. He meets his grandfather, Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker), and his grandmother, Aretha Cobbs (Angela Bassett). Langston also befriends a pregnant lady named Maria and her friend Jo-Jo. The family comes together to perform Langston Hughes' play "Black Nativity," which inspires a life-changing revelation about his past.