At 59, facing a dull and lonely future, Philip Vail yearns for a way to put vigor and purpose into his remaining years. Then he finds the Mafia. While riding a commuter train, enjoying a chat with a younger woman sitting next to him, he encounters three violent drunks. Phil is powerless and terrified but the woman is neither; her father is the caporegime of New York's Sforza crime family and a quick call brings her three mobster brothers who deal out brutal punishment. Phil is appalled but fascinated. In subsequent contacts with the woman, he finds himself falling in love and deeper into the Mob. Then comes the game-changer: a crazy-seeming offer to become a crime boss himself, an offer he cannot refuse.
Phil sees the dark comedy in his situation but tells the story earnestly describing his emotions, reflections, and surprising leadership, as well as his adventures—including a sensational brawl with a Mafia kingpin in a posh Manhattan restaurant, a near-death experience in a karate dojo, and a spectacular stunt to force the hand of the FBI. Meanwhile, his respectable life intrudes. An ex-client, the retired CEO of a blue-chip corporation, decides to run for president, with Phil as a key member of his staff. He must now find his way between two preposterously conflicting purposes: leading a crime family or serving a potential president. Which is more worthy of his allegiance? Which offers a better life?
