Brooklyn at the beginning of the 1950s is a colorful and violent place. Family ties among the Italian immigrant population, coupled with a culture of corruption at all levels, make for a neighbrhood that is at once close and threatening. The city police don't reach here, and the law is old to anyone able to pay to escape a beating. Into this world comes Joey Campione, a butcher's son risking his life to pursue his love for Rosalie, daughter of Don Arturo Ragone, the kingpin of the underworld. It's a specially dangerous time right now: political attempts to stop the power of the gangsters have ended in murder, and there is a mysterious shotgun killer on the loose, known only as the phantom...Anthony D. Scotto's novel vividly portrays the harsh, diverse life of Brooklyn's streets and waterfront, and tells a staory that is realistic, evocative and chilling.