Carmine "the Snake" Persico, a master of deceit, commits one of the biggest murders in Mafia history; while behind bars he rules a crime family, conducts three wars and orders murders.

Henry Hill, a wannabe mobster, sets up the biggest heist in American history to that point, but can't fully cash in because he isn't Italian; he never sees the icy treachery behind the facade and must become a rat to survive.