Antonio Cristoforo Baldini, aka Tonly Baldwin, is born in New York's Little Italy in 1928 to an immigrant family on the fringes of organized crime. Tony, good-looking and a talented singer, romanticizes the dangerous lives of his brothers. Upon their violent deaths he turns away from the past, landing the lead in a Broadway musical, and falling in love with its wealthy producer, Priscilla Poyncroft Porter. However, Tony's charmed life, and his marriage, soon begin to unravel, and he finds himself drawn to a mysterious, matchstick violin made by a prisoner, and to his memories of the seductive lives of his brothers. His past, and present, begin to catch up with him. Soon, with the help of a therapist Dr. Norma Mellows, he finds himself making a case to fight for his freedom and true identity.
