The film takes place entirely in one evening, with the time being indicated chronologically on the clock in Johnny's Trans Am. Johnny, a working-class Italian-American from Alphabet City, works for the New York Italian-American Mafia, which has placed him in charge of running
organized crime operations and
rackets in his neighborhood, including drug-dealing operations and the collection of protection money, debts, and street taxes and kick-ups from other local gangsters. Early in the evening, Johnny meets with his friend Lippy, an eccentric cocaine dealer. They discuss the planned arson of an Alphabet City tenement building as ordered by the Mafia. As their discussion progresses, it becomes clear that it is Johnny who must carry out the burning of the building before the night is over and that his impoverished mother and sister live in the targeted building. This request pushes Johnny to plan a split from the Mob, which proves difficult. By the end of the night, Johnny must save his sister and mother from the burning of their building as well as rescue his girlfriend and their newborn child from the clutches of the Mob. == Cast ==