THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, a new "Hallmark Hall of Fame" drama, tells the story of how three generations of strong and independent women learn to deal with their decades-long differences when a beloved son, Declan (Keith McErlean), shares the news that he has AIDS. The three women in Declan's life--his grandmother, Dora (Angela Lansbury), a crusty old woman who tries to hold the fragile family together; his mother, Lily (Dianne Wiest), who left her children years ago with Dora when their father was dying, and his sister, Helen (Gina McKee), now married with two children--have become alienated from one another over the years. They are forced to confront one another when Declan reveals that he is in the final stages of AIDS and wants to come home to Dora's house on the coast of Ireland for what may be his last visit with his family.

These three very different women, as well as two of Declan's close friends, Paul (Sam Robards) and Larry (Brian O'Byrne), are brought together to deal with the reality of Declan's illness. In the process, they begin to reconcile, discovering how important they really are to one another.