Romanzo Criminale

In 1970s Rome, four youths steal a car and crash through a police roadblock. Grand is crushed by the steering column in the wreck, dying on the spot. The surviving trio flees and eventually heads to their hideout, a small disused caravan near a beach, as the authorities close in.

The police raid their hideout and corner them. Ice, Lebanese, and Dandi attempt to flee but are captured, while Grand is already dead from the earlier crash.

Some years later in the 1970s, Ice is released from prison and reconnects with Lebanese, who presents a plan to kidnap Baron Rossellini. They begin assembling a larger crew with Dandi and others to pull off the heist.

Ice and Lebanese recruit Dandi and a broader gang to kidnap Baron Rossellini for a ransom. They negotiate a ransom of 3 billion lire and begin assembling the crew for the operation.

During the abduction, the Baron is shot by one of the Cannizzari brothers entrusted to guard him. The gang photographs the dead Baron with a newspaper and pockets 3 billion lire in ransom money. Police Commissioner Scialoja starts to track them by recording the serial numbers.

As the gang divides the loot, Lebanese suggests keeping 500 million lire for themselves and using the remaining 2.5 billion to build a foothold in Rome's criminal underworld. They set their sights on drug dealing as the next big profit, brushing past existing networks.

Terrible's drug operation stands in the way of their expansion. The gang wipes out Terrible's crew, then bribes Gemito to help them take over. Terrible wakes inside his own home to find Ice, Lebanese, and Dandi and reluctantly agrees to cede control.

Rome falls under Lebanese's control as the gang's influence explodes. Dandi is drawn to Patrizia, an upmarket prostitute who is bought and given a brothel to keep him in line and prevent jealousy-driven brawls.

Ice falls for Roberta, his younger brother Gigio's tutor, while Lebanese views this as a liability. Ice asks to withdraw from the gang, triggering tension within the leadership.

Ice and Roberta begin learning English with the idea of running away together. While these plans unfold, a bomb attack at Bologna Train Station suggests state collusion and destabilization.

Ice receives a call that Lebanese has been stabbed to death by Gemito after a bitter poker game. The loss fuels Ice's quest for vengeance.

Scialoja continues the pursuit and succeeds in capturing Ice, then the other gang members, with the exception of Dandi. The net tightens around the remaining crew.

Ice contemplates an escape from prison with help from his allies, but a deadly spiral of score-settling already threads through the gang. The gang's fate seems sealed as vengeance and arrests close in.