Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1964. The City of Brotherly Love is being torn apart by personal greed and racial conflict. Within that maelstrom, Jeffry Weiss, the son of a prominent Philadelphia police officer, is trapped by his own selfish motivations and an environment that rewards money over morals. Disillusioned, Jeffry seeks a life of crime, becoming a master thief. In an effort to delve further into his chosen career, he ingratiates himself with the Black, Jewish and Italian Mafias, falling into a downward spiral of grave conflict with family, traditions, and the legal system. Contrasting himself with his father, Jeffry becomes appalled at his transformation into a "wise guy." But by the time he decides to get out, he's caught in a spider's web of crime and deception. Unable to escape the clutches of crime boss Sylvan Skolnick in New Jersey, Phil Testa in Philadelphia, and Carlo Gambino in New York, he is forced to participate in more and more dangerous offenses. Finally, indicted by the city, state and the Feds and forced to dig his own grave, there is nowhere for Jeffry to go but upward. Every event and character in the book is real. Some names were changed out of respect, or fear, for those still living.