Newly elected to Congress, former local TV newsman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his family to suburban northern Virginia. His congressional campaign declared that he would change the world, but he never stated how. Once he reaches his new home and job, his life gets turned upside-down when God (Morgan Freeman) appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark because a flood is coming. His family comes to believe he is having an extraordinary mid-life crisis, but soon thinks he is truly onto something of Biblical proportions. God tells Evan the flood will come September 22 mid-day. Animals start following Evan to Congress causing him to eventually be suspended by Congressman Long (John Goodman) from work after he tells everyone that God told him to build an ark. His wife Joan and his three sons leave for her mother's house after seeing it on a news report, leaving him to build the ark himself, which gains international notice. Weeks after Joan leaves Evan, God appears to her as a waiter at a diner. He tells her that God doesn't give things, he gives the opportunity to get things. For example, God doesn't give a family togetherness, he gives the opportunity for families to be together. Seeing his meaning, Joan returns to Evan to finish the ark together. Evan's old colleagues tell him that Congressman Long built a dam over a nearby lake and cut corners to save businesses money.