The Happiest Place on Earth

As the film opens, Jonah and Maggie are in the process of buying their first home, picking out one that feels perfect to start a family. They move in, riding a wave of satisfaction at opening the next chapter in their lives. But it doesn’t last. Days after moving in, the newspaper where Jonah works makes job cuts, his position among them. They try to muddle through and hold on to their dream. Maggie picks up a waitressing gig to supplement her daycare job, and Jonah tries desperately to find work and renegotiate the terms of their mortgage, to no avail. And trying to compete in a dying industry and a saturated job market, his opportunities are severely limited. After a particularly humiliating interview and another round of bad news about the mortgage, Jonah is at his wit’s end. He heads to the coast to regroup, but never returns home. He is presumed to have drowned while kayaking in the ocean, but no one is certain. Maggie is left to pick up the pieces while weighing her grief, her hope for Jonah’s miraculous return, suspicions regarding the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and her own need to move on with her life …