One day, Ellerbee's store in Minneapolis is robbed. During the robbery, two of his employees are shot, and one eventually dies. Feeling guilty, Ellerbee begins giving the family of the employees money to try to make up for their hardship. For his decision, his wife, May, criticizes him, saying that social security will take care of them and that they need the money more. Regardless, Ellerbee gives the families money and sells his old store to open a new store. One day, at the new story, Ellerbee is there with an employee when robbers enter with guns. They take all the money, and on the way out tell Ellerbee that he knows too much because he heard their name. The next thing he knows, Ellerbee is on the ground and someone is speaking to him. It is the angel of death informing him that he has died and the two travel to heaven. Ellerbee is amazed by heaven, seeing everything that he had heard about it, such as the pearly gates and gold-paved roads. When speaking with Saint Peter, Ellerbee is suddenly told by him to go to hell, and then he does. Ellerbee explores hell for years, and similar to heaven, all the awfulness that had been written about hell was correct. Ellerbee hopes one day he can find his wife, who he assumes will wind up in hell. Instead, Ellerbee finds one of the accomplices to the robbery, Ladlehaus, who informs him about what happened after his death. Finally, Ellerbee calls upon the conventional wisdom, which is thought to be that God loves everyone. He decides to confront God, praying to Him. God answers, asking him what he wants and Ellerbee explains that he wants an explanation. Ellerbee thought he lived a godly life, but God lists off his sins, from wearing zippers, to using His name in vain, to not honoring his real parents, whom Ellerbee never knew because he was adopted. Ellerbee then asks God to eradicate hell and everyone in it, but God laughs and takes pleasure in abusing him and lighting hell up like a star.