"Every man has a destiny"

Nicky Carlucci grows up in a little town called Corona, seven miles from Manhattan, in 1950’s New York. He is the fourth child of five children. Nicky’s father died when he was nine years old. His mother, Nicholetta, works in a dress factory to support the family. Corona is a tough town made up of all Italians, run by Tommy Narro. He runs the town with loan sharking and anything illegal. After their father died, Nicky’s older brother, Paul, heads for Hollywood to become an actor. As Nicky gets older, he looks up to the wise guys. He also leads a gang called the Corona Dukes, a tough bunch of kids who looks after the town and its people.

After quitting high school, Nicky works different jobs including construction work on high rise buildings in Manhattan. One day, Nicky has a run in and beats up the foreman’s brother. This makes Nicky realize that construction work is not for him. Nicky’s best friend, Joey Genzale, talks Nicky into working for Tommy Narro. The two buddies fall right in with the mob. A near perfect fit.

Nicholetta knows what road her son is taking and she doesn’t like it. She confronts Tommy Narro. Despite Nicholetta’s objections, Nicky and Joey wind up working for Tommy full time, loan sharking and enforcing for him. Just when life is looking sweet, one of Tommy’s watchdogs, Louie Smash, makes a move on Joey’s mother and smacks his younger brother too. A big fight ensues with Joey and Louie, leaving Louie embarrassed going back to Brooklyn with his tails between his legs but that isn’t the end of him…

Nicky has some close calls himself. Nicholetta and Paul try to convince Nicky that becoming a wise guy is not the right thing. They encourage him to leave Corona, join Paul out West, and start a new life. His love for his mother might just turn his life around until Louie comes back from Brooklyn…A life changing choice has to be made.

In this coming-of-age drama, Nicky is torn between staying where things are familiar and dangerous or going to an unfamiliar place where great opportunities may be awaiting for him. Will Nicky stay in Corona and become a big time wise guy like Tommy Narro or will he pack up his life and leave what is familiar for a shot at a new, safer, and more prosperous life? Every man has a destiny. This is a story where an impressionable young man discovers his.