HAVING RECEIVED disturbing news from his physician, seventy-year-old Frank Hessel agonizes over how best to tell Sarah, his long-term girlfriend. Not wanting to be a burden, he finally decides to break up with her, to set her free, just when they are finally able to be a true couple after years of limited time together. Before he can act, Frank runs into his childhood friend and rival, Carl, who has moved back to Happy Valley following the death of his wife. Frank is a devout Catholic while Carl was raised Lutheran, and they always enjoyed a friendly rivalry. Carl tells Frank that someone else from their childhood has also returned, Jonathan Green-part of the last Jewish family in the valley. Old friendships, ancient rivalries, and human greed and prejudice threaten to tear apart the idyllic peace of Happy Valley.