Balancing impressionistic flashbacks with a meticulous retracing of his life and the crime for which he was convicted, The Happening oscillates between Joaquín's experience and that of five remarkable characters with whom he crosses paths. The series travels the dirt floor of his childhood home in rural Michoacán to the corridors of power in Iowa’s state capital—where the niece of the former Governor works to have Joaquin's case reexamined, and for the chance for Joaquín to restart the life that was interrupted that long ago Iowa night.

As an undocumented immigrant convicted of a crime, Joaquín sits at the very bottom of the American power structure. In a nation actively engaged in essential conversations about excessive sentencing, systemic racism and immigration, The Happening seeks to add Joaquín’s voice to the debate.