Frankie Migliori, born and raised in Jersey City New Jersey, returns from a stint in the army to find that his longtime girlfriend has married his best friend. The girlfriend, Lorraine Impazienti and the friend, Jimmy Murphy were also his closest childhood friends making this a double punch to the gut. Frankie decided to take a trip down to the Jersey shore for a week or so to clear his head and try to work his way through his grief. While in Long Branch New Jersey, a sleepy shore town about an hour and a half south of Jersey City, Frankie sees a beautiful young woman working in a pastry shop just off the boardwalk, and falls in love, or lust almost immediately. Frankie convinces the young woman, Sophia Nasorosso to accompany him to the drug store soda fountain for an egg cream. They hit it off right away, but Frankie being young and never entirely on the square cannot decide whether his intentions for Sophia are noble or salacious. Surely both, Frankie is at odds with his heart, and genitals, and his forgotten grief. Did he ever really love Lorraine? Frankie soon learns of Sophia's connection to New Jersey Mob Boss Salvatore Nasorosso. Sophia is his much beloved only daughter. Sophia's mother died while giving birth to her. A passionate and loving man at home, Salvatore Nasorosso was still a very bad man who would protect his family at all cost. Frankie is introduced to one of Salvatore Nasorosso's henchmen. Pauley Fratello aka Pauley the fish is a long time associate of the "Boss" and trusted family friend. Pauley imposes himself into the budding romance. At first Pauley tries to give the kid the brush off, but after a few days and several meetings with Frankie is convinced that the kid is on the up and up. Frankie has a connection to the low end as well. His grandfather was an old Don of a small village in Sicily who after discovering that his daughter Maria was with child shipped her and her half baked husband to America. The man she married was not the father of her child but he would do for now. Maria Nazione and Michael Migliori made their way to Jersey City by way of Ellis Island like so many others before them. Frankie was born to an inattentive mother who drank and a wimpish father figure wallowing in his emasculation. Dysfunctional at best, his upbringing was slight. Frankie knew little of the do's and don't's of propriety but was a self-taught nice guy with great potential for near goodness, and almost respectability. Along the way to his eventual relationship with the mob guys daughter Frankie becomes involved in the family business, working with his now partner in crime Pauley the fish, doing "whatever the boss tells us to do" every day except Sunday when both are expected to have dinner at Sal's house. It is at Sal's house that Frankie and Sophia solidifies their connection to each other, and make plans for a wedding. Pauley the fish does what he can to guide Frankie in his pursuit of happiness but denies his own. Pauley refuses to marry the woman he loves and legitimize the child she gave him because of her color. This being before civil rights would make this sort of thing tolerable. Frankie and Pauley the fish while doing "whatever" get into some mischief that cements their relationship and bonds them to each other, and to their occupation of choice, crime, pitfalls and pratfalls ensue. The novel includes many colorful characters, such as Charlie Chili Dogs, a punch drunk bar room brawler, Philly Cheese another ex fighter and associate of Sal's, Joey Spoons, and Jackie N, Sal's brother who handles part of the business. The relationship between Frankie and Sophia does end in matrimony but not without difficulty. The story is pure New Jersey, it stinks of the place.
