Jake Lever is a successful
cardiologist living in the upscale
Georgetown neighborhood of
Washington, D.C. When he dozes off at the hospital where he works, he dreams that his brother, Benjamin, tells him they are okay. Jake is confused and baffled after receiving a phone call from his mother later that day informing him that his brother, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbi, has died suddenly. He feels guilty for not having kept in touch with Ben for several years. After Ben's funeral in
Brooklyn, Jake learns that because his brother's wife Leah was left without children, they must perform a
halizah ritual to release them from the religious obligation to conduct a
levirate marriage. Jake and Leah agree, but Jake changes his mind after seeing Leah wears a necklace with the identical
hamsa his brother gave him before Benjamin left for college. The
amulet reminds Jake of how much he loved his brother. He pulls Leah aside and says he doesn't want to deny his brother's existence, which is what he believes the
halizah vow requires of him. After deciding she wants to leave her mother's home, become independent and start college, Leah agrees to Jake's alternate offer to marry him and move with him to Washington but maintain a platonic relationship. Jake is constantly busy with work at the hospital; his girlfriend Carol has little patience for his new "wife", and Leah adjusts to finding her way around a new city. As Leah becomes more liberal in her religious outlook, Jake finds himself drawn back to his Jewish roots. Eventually, true love grows and the two find the greatest gift Benjamin left them is each other. ==Cast==