Set in small-town Iowa, “Saints Rest” is a feel-good musical drama about two estranged sisters who chose two very different paths. Allie went off to college to study musical theater in pursuit of a Broadway career, while Joni stayed home to take over Saints Rest, their mother’s coffee shop, believing it was only temporary. Having just graduated from college, Allie returns home for the summer before moving to New York City for her first Broadway role. She finds Joni still running Saints Rest and feeling stuck in a life she hasn’t truly chosen for herself. While Allie works towards a successful singing career that will bring her fame and recognition, Joni writes songs in the privacy of her home and in the empty coffee-shop after closing. Meanwhile, Joni’s Israeli best friend and roommate, Danny, is faced with a dilemma when her American boyfriend proposes to her. Torn between her desire to be with him, and her need to return home to Israel to be with her family, Danny takes comfort in watching Joni and Allie reconnect through their shared love of music. The stories of all three women collide, as they each face questions of belonging and the difficult choices they must make when family, careers, and romantic love pull them in different directions.
