Bocca Lupo is about Mario's coming of age in the exciting, mysterious, electrifying and dangerous world of the cigarette contraband trade in the Mediterranean. The novel is set mainly around the coasts of Greece, Italy, Sicily, Malta, and the South of France in the early 70's. Young and inexperienced Mario, a.k.a Panagiotakis, embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime, trying to find a position in a contraband ship to escape the poverty and the hardships of his life in the Greek merchant navy. After a lot of time and effort, he finally manages to land a job in a Sicilian squadra trading cigarettes. Things move on rapidly for Mario, who, despite his naivete, proves himself to be a competent and reliable sailor, amidst a whirlwind of attacking pirates, rough seas, wasted cargos and snoring whales, winning his captain's trust and impressing the team's capo, the infamous Signorino. He soon gets promoted to speedboat coxswain, in charge of delivering the goods safely to shore, the most responsible and treacherous position of them all. He is finally living the dream, reaping the benefits of his success, earning and squandering loads of money, jet setting in Monte Carlo next to Onassis's luxury yacht, moving from girl to girl, drinking, scheming and gambling. He is so addicted to the thrill of adventure and his fix of high speed that he doesn't even care about his own life or his future, totally ignoring the adversities of his chosen path. But the sea cannot let him go on like this forever. It will show its true colours, bringing him face to face with his vanity and the realities of the contraband business: The risk of getting caught, the constant pursuits by the customs officers, the explosions, the secret dealings, the grasses, the loss of his friends, the gales and the hurricanes, and ultimately, death itself. Mario's run of luck is over. It is time to step out of the daze and look straight at the sea. It is time to become a real man..."