Having fled to New York following his involvement in a terrible crime, Irish-born Danny McCabe throws in his lot with Nicolas and Lucia Mariani, Italian siblings who have come to America to make their fortune. In New York the trio get by, earning money from fighting and - on Nicolas Mariani's part - increasingly illicit activity. Lucia has ambitions of becoming an actress and, following a fight that goes horribly wrong, the three of them head to Los Angeles, the city of dreams. Beneath the glitzy facade of 1940s Hollywood lies a world of corruption and organised crime, and it isn't long before Nicholas become entangled in it. As Lucia and McCabe's feelings for each other grow, McCabe is desperate to bury the dark secret of his past, while Lucia is torn between her loyalty to her brother and her loyalty to the man she loves.