Don Raymonde Aprile is an old man wily enough to retire gracefully from organized crime after a lifetime of ruthless conquest. Having kept his three children at a distance, they are now respectable members of the establishment: Valerius is an Army colonel who teaches at West Point; Marcantonio is an influential TV network executive; and Nicole is a corporate litigator with a weakness for taking on pro bono cases to fight the death penalty.

To protect them from harm, and to keep an eye on his entree into the legitimate world of international banking, Don Aprile has adopted a "nephew" from Sicily, Astorre Viola, whose previous legal guardian made the unfortunate decision of committing suicide in the trunk of a car. Astorre is an unlikely enforcer -- a macaroni importer with a fondness for riding stallions and recording Italian ballads with his band.

Don Aprile's retirement is seen as a business opportunity by his last Mafia rival, Timonna Portella. At the same time, it is viewed with suspicion by Kurt Cilke, the FBI's special agent in charge of investigating the Mafia. Cilke has achieved remarkable success in breaking down the bonds between families, cultivating high-ranking sources who in return for federal protection have violated omerta -- Sicilian for "code of silence" -- the vow among men of honor that,until recently, kept them from betraying their secrets to authorities.

As Cilke and the FBI mount their campaign to wipe out the Mafia once and for all, Astorre Viola and the Apriles find themselves in the midst of one last war, a conflict in which it is hard to distinguish who is on the right side of the law, and whether mercy or vengeance is the best course of action.