Dim-witted and stuttering Pidol is the brunt of his townsfolk's ridicule. Not even being reconciled to his dad Andres changes his luck, for under Andres' nose Pidol is tormented by his stepmother Husing and stepdaughter Sunshine.
Lucia (Natassja Kinski) is a volatile, exciteable young woman. She forms a romance with Carlo (Stefano Dionisi), who is somewhat callow and is very skittish.
Andreas, who is ten, has been brought up by his grandmother. When she dies, he removes a putto from the crucifix placed upon her, puts it in his mouth and does not speak again.
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.