George Bailey never got a chance to fulfill his life's ambitions of exploring the world and building skyscrapers. As he watches his friends and family become success stories, he dreads on running his father's building and loan business, rivaling the grumpy old Mr. Potter. When a financial discrepancy puts him in a difficult position, his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, comes to show him what life would have been like if he had never been born.—Eric Johnson