Abramowitz, Glass and Isaacs, three guys, all best friends, all named Nathan, form a boyhood league for life complete with secret chants and rituals (including a scan of the night sky with flashlights to look for God). While Abramowitz and Glass spend their youth grappling with their Jewishness, Isaacs is more concerned with his quest for Denise Filipowicz. In their teens, the league is suddenly split up when Glass has to flee to Israel.