Synopsis
A series of murders opens David's story, confused memories
from when he lived in Sicily, when he wasn't yet blind and belonged to
the Cortello family clan which lorded over the territory. David
departs, and on the long train journey back to his roots, he meets
Father Leonard, an African-American priest. They have a past and a
present in common, and on the train there is also a mysterious woman
who plays a part in the priest's past.
The two men introduce themselves
and start to talk: Father Leonard asks a lot of questions out of
curiosity, but also because he senses that the man seated opposite him
has something weighing on his mind that links the two together.
There
is a series of recollections that go back a few years. David and his
friend Vito make a living from petty thievery until one day David gets
up the courage to present himself to Don Michele, the Cortello family
boss, who takes him in along with his pal Vito. The family recognises
at once that Vito is very courageous but most of all capable of pulling
a trigger, something David doesn't have the nerve to do, he can only
deal drugs and not much else; moreover, he has a nasty habit of talking
to priests too much. In the meanwhile, something serious is happening
not only in Sicily but also on the other side of the ocean: Dan Mancino
has recently arrived in Agrigento, standing in for Don Federico, a
prominent member of an emigrant family in New York. Federico is also
crazy: he likes to tie his enemies to a chair and read or recite
Koranic verses to them before killing them, even though they aren't
Muslim. While the Cortello family is busy collecting protection money,
even murdering a recalcitrant baker, Dan Mancino watches and starts
taking over. When the Cortello family realises what is happening, it is
too late to call in other families, so a war, or more accurately, the
massacre of the Cortello family, breaks out. Apart from being strong
and clever enough to turn any situation to his advantage, such as
making the murdered baker's wife one of his own... Dan Mancino discovers
that David is Federico's half brother, so without letting anyone know,
he convinces David to betray the Cortellos and come over to Mancino's
side.
At this point, power in both Sicily and New York rests in Don
Federico's hands; David loses his eyesight in an accident and flees to
Rome, abandoning his half brother.
On the train, Father Leonard also
tells David his own tale: before becoming a priest, he was dealing with
a certain Williams, whom he kills one evening after the theatre; the
woman on the train turns out to be William's wife.
The long journey
comes to an end, Father Leonard alights, David continues on, and while
sleeping, has a nightmare in which Don Michele kills him. While David
is about to reach his destination, we see on the other side of the
ocean Don Federico, who is leaving for Sicily