It all began at the turn of the century. It was the year 1900 when a young and courageous Michael Guardi left his home in San Giovanni, Naples, to come to America. Within five years, he was joined by his wife, Bella, and their three children, Alfredo, Giovanni, and Chiara. This is the story of three generations of Guardis and the effects that Michael and Bella's uprooting had on their lives. The central character, Americo-more familiarly known as Rico-is portrayed as the victim of what went wrong in his life because of the choices of others and what went wrong because of his own.