*In 1900, Roberto Columbo, an Italian-American attorney living in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City, is gunned down by gangsters as he meets with a police officer to divulge information about an extortion plot.* His widow and son return to Italy, where his wife dies. By 1908, his son, Giovanni E. 'Johnny' Columbo, returns to New York, driven by a burning resolve to avenge his father’s death. He teams up with his childhood friend, Isabella Gomboli, and with police detective Louis Lorelli, who try to talk him away from a path of revenge. Roberto also speaks with a man whose son was kidnapped after refusing to pay protection money to the mob, a chilling reminder of the city’s grip on the community.
A would-be informant Giovanni had hoped would reveal his father’s killers is murdered, and the trio—Giovanni, Isabella, and Lorelli—set out to mobilize Little Italy against the Black Hand racket. Their momentum stalls when Giovanni is attacked and his leg is broken, sidelining him for a time. During his recovery, Giovanni chooses to study law, inspired by his father’s example, with Isabella by his side, and the two deepen their bond as they work toward justice together. When Lorelli uncovers evidence after a bombing of a local store, Giovanni puts his studies on hold to help hunt the perpetrators.
A court trial falters as a key witness is intimidated into silence, yet a glimmer of justice appears when police in Naples identify the defendant as a fugitive and deport him. Following that deportation, Lorelli travels to Italy to study photographs of Italian criminals who might be deported back to the United States, hoping to broaden the net against organized crime. He mails his findings back to Giovanni, but is brutally attacked and killed before the information can fully impact the case.
To keep Lorelli’s list from reaching authorities, gangsters kidnap Isabella’s young brother. Giovanni is captured while attempting a daring rescue, and under threat to cripple the boy, he reveals the location of the list to the criminals. After the boy is released, Giovanni escapes and salvages the list by igniting a bomb found in the gang’s hideout, a bold act that aims to disrupt the criminal network and safeguard the evidence that could finally bring the perpetrators to justice.
