Frank and Kerry Montana, both UC Berkeley professors, return home after a six-month sabbatical in Malaysia only to find that their son (36), given up for adoption at seven days old, is squatting in their house with his daughter (15). 

SYNOPSIS:

Just imagine arriving back home to Berkeley, California after a six-month sabbatical in Malaysia, where you were working archeological digs, only to find squatters. This is what happens to UC Berkeley professors Frank Montana (69), physical anthropologist, and Kerry Montana (68), geneticist. Their next-door neighbor, Shirly (89), was supposed to have been watching the house for them, but her dementia has been worsening as of late, leaving her vulnerable to falling in love with the squatters, who happen to be the Montana’s long-lost son, Douglas (36) and his teenage daughter, Pearl (15).

What follows is a gauntlet of recrimination, regrets, and misunderstandings, along with renewed love and even miracles, all of which will change everybody’s lives forever. Douglas has finally come to them because he has stage-four cancer and is hoping Frank and Kerry will take care of Pearl after he passes away. Pearl doesn’t know just how sick Douglas is; in fact, Douglas has told Pearl that he has a severe case of Epstein Bar, all the while attending his chemotherapy sessions, in secret, while she’s at school.

Kerry and Frank want desperately to keep Douglas alive, so Kerry launches an attack on Douglas’ cancer, even calling on a Noble Laureate friend and other famous specialists from UC Berkeley and Stanford University to employ experimental hormone and CRISPR therapies. As Medi-Cal won’t cover experimental treatments, it’s a struggle to convince grant donors that Douglas, with such a dire prognosis, qualifies for funding. But the Montanas are determined. One of their most frustrating fights involves keeping Douglas from giving up after two years of horrendous chemotherapy.

THE NICEST MAN IN BERKELEY