Benjamin, a christian, and his jewish spouse, stephen, are already domestic partners when they learn they are about to be given the legal right to marry in california. they promptly do so, only to find that well-heeled religious groups will do virtually anything in order to use the ballot box to unravel their union. and, despite the fact benjamin is a lawyer, they find they can't actually afford the detached home they need to start a family. on the other hand, benjamin's brother james seems to have no trouble borrowing to buy homes, cars, boats and whatever else he wants, as he works for a rapidly-growing and newly-founded mortgage brokerage that funds liar's loans. however, when the real estate market starts to turn, things change, as james finds his life and finances de-leveraging rapidly. as nouveau-debtor james fends off his wife's charge that he lost all our money, benjamin and stephen find the tsunami of foreclosures actually makes buying a house more difficult...