As Time Goes By

In Prohibition-era New York, Rick Baline operates as a small-time criminal. He meets Lois, daughter of Solly Horowitz, a powerful gangster, and quickly becomes Solly's favorite. This relationship seeds Rick's rise within the Horowitz orbit.

Rick takes control of the Tootsie-Wootsie Club, turning it into a favored speakeasy under his management. His rise brings him closer to Lois and Solly, but also inflames rivalries. The club becomes a focal point of the neighborhood's underworld.

Solly's principal assistant Tick-Tock dislikes Rick and schemes to become his heir should Solly retire or die. The tension between Rick and Tick-Tock foreshadows a dangerous power struggle. Rival factions within the Horowitz operation escalate the danger.

Solly makes it clear Lois is meant for better things, and she eventually marries a lawyer and would-be politician, Robert Meredith. She does not truly love him, highlighting the clash between romance and ambition. Rick watches the arrangement from the sidelines.

Warfare erupts between the Horowitz, Salucci, and O'Hanlon gangs, plunging the city into violence. The conflict claims several lives and destabilizes the underworld economy. Rick's world becomes increasingly dangerous as rival factions clash.

Solly and Tick-Tock are killed in the escalating gang wars. Lois and her husband, exposed as corrupt politicians, are also killed. The violence destroys Rick's former life and pushes him toward a drastic exit.

Rick must flee America with Solly's money, a half a million dollars, believed to be for Lois. He travels to Boston with Sam, and, as they prepare to sail, he changes his name to Richard Blaine. The escape marks a dramatic break from his past.

Rick and Sam travel by steamship to Le Havre, and he officially adopts the name Richard Blaine during the voyage. The journey marks a transition from a New York hoodlum to a man with a mysterious overseas future. The money and the new identity set the stage for Rick's later legend.

In 1941-42, Rick, Louis, and Sam depart Casablanca with documents provided by Louis and travel via Lisbon to London as World War II intensifies. They track down Victor, who is keen to resume his part in the Czech Resistance. The voyage marks a turn toward wartime operations beyond the Atlantic.

Ilsa, who speaks perfect Russian, is placed in Prague as an assistant to Reinhard Heydrich, the 'Butcher of Prague'. Her cover as a White Russian earns his confidence and gives her access to his circle. She becomes a key figure in the unfolding plans.

The plot to assassinate Heydrich—Operation Anthropoid—goes ahead despite last-minute delays and great risks. The mission tests loyalties and nerves as resistance fighters press forward. The operation embodies a climactic wartime gambit.

Victor kills Louis, convinced he is a traitor, and goes on to assassinate Heydrich but is killed in the process. The double assassination marks a brutal culmination of the mission. The operation exacts a heavy cost on all sides.

With North Africa once again in Allied hands, Ilsa and Rick marry and return to Casablanca with Sam. Carl becomes the new owner of Rick's Café Americain, and the cafe continues to operate under new ownership. The ending ties their wartime odyssey back to Rick's old stomping grounds.