The Devil and Max Devlin

Max Devlin is the shady landlord of a rundown Los Angeles slum, exploiting tenants and cutting corners to keep his profits high. His predatory attitude sets the stage for the conflicts that haunt his life. The day-to-day grind of his power is about to collide with a life-changing turn of fate.

While fleeing an angry crowd of tenants, Max is struck and killed by a bus. He finds himself in a hell that resembles a ruthless corporate headquarters, a surreal afterlife where he meets Barney Satin, the devil's chief henchman. Barney offers Max a deal: release from death in exchange for recruiting three innocents to sell their souls to spare his own.

Barney explains the grim bargain: Max will be freed only if he can lure three unsuspecting people into signing away their souls. Max agrees and is returned to life, but Barney retains his own soul and makes sure Max cannot see his reflection in a mirror. He also grants him limited magical powers to aid in the mission.

Barney clarifies the rules: the three subjects will live out their natural lives if they sign, and Max must shepherd them to the signatures. With his new powers, Max begins the quest in earnest and starts to feel a strange sense of responsibility.

Max lands a recording contract for Stella Summers, a struggling singer with big potential, using his influence as her manager. The gleam of success blinds him to the moral cost of exploiting her talents.

Max trains Nerve Nordlinger as a motorbike racer after school, pushing him toward fame and popularity. He mentors and engineers Nerve's every move, hoping to secure the fated signatures.

Max spends time with Toby Hart and helps Penny run a day care facility, growing closer to Penny in the process. The deeper he gets into their lives, the more uneasy he becomes about what he is doing.

Max begins to care for all three subjects and even falls for Penny, creating a moral struggle over signing away their souls. He fights the temptation to skip the hard truths to secure a clean exit.

Max finally obtains all three signatures, triggering a swift and unsettling change in their personalities. Stella becomes calculating and distrustful, Nerve fixates on the next big victory, and Toby's sunny demeanor darkens.

Barney appears at Max and Penny's wedding and reveals the grim deadline: the three subjects will die at midnight, and although Max himself will live to his natural end, his soul remains damned. The revelation shatters any hope of easy redemption.

Max tries to destroy the contracts, but Barney drags him back to Hell in his true demonic form and warns of greater torment if Max goes through with it. In a burst of defiance, Max hurls the papers into a nearby fire and is abruptly returned to life.

Believing himself still damned, Max leaves the wedding reception to bid farewell to Nerve and Stella, only to discover that their personalities have returned to normal. He also finds that he can see himself in a mirror again, interpreting this as proof that his self-sacrifice redeemed him and defeated Barney.

That night, Max attends Stella's concert with Penny and Toby, looks toward Heaven, and gives thanks for his second chance. The miracle feels complete as the crowd cheers in the background.