It's New York, 1963, and college student Russell Newhouse has just made the acquaintance of notorious Jewish gangster Shoeshine Cats. Cats wants a tiny favour. And - for his own reasons - he also wants to educate Russell in the world of crime, cops and the gritty reality of life on the edge. Russell knows a lot about books, a bit about girls, and nothing at all about the mob. That's about to change.