IN THE STONE-FILLED village of CasteUammare delGolfo, facing the dark Sicilian Mediterranean, a great Mafia Don lay dying. Vincenzo Zeno was a man of honor, who all his life had been loved for his fair and impartial judgment, his help to those in need, and his implacable punishment of those who dared to oppose his will.
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Don Raymonde Aprile is an old man wily enough to retire gracefully from organized crime after a lifetime of ruthless conquest. To protect his own respectably mainstream children from harm, and to maintain his entry into the legitimate world of international banking, Don Aprile has adopted a "nephew" from Sicily, Astorre Viola, whose legal guardian made the unfortunate decision to commit suicide in the trunk of a car.
Though Don Aprile’s retirement is seen as a business opportunity by his rivals, it is viewed with suspicion by Kurt Cilke, the FBI’s special agent in charge of organized crime. As Cilke and the FBI mount a feverish campaign against the Mafia, Astorre Viola and the Apriles find themselves in the midst of one last war, unsure of who is on the right side of the law and forced to decide whether mercy or vengeance is the best course of action.
