Author Description

Three brothers flee a violent confrontation with recruiters from the Austrian Army but only two ultimately reach the port of Cherbourg, France. There they sign on as stokers on a tramp steamer run by an antisemitic captain and his sadistic crew. When their lives are threatened, the brothers join forces with a Senegalese stoker, a Republican Irishman, and a French former boxer to wreak revenge on their tormentors. Upon arriving in America, they find tremendous opportunity for those brave, smart, and strong enough to overcome others competing for the same piece of the American dream. This leads them from horse trading to bootlegging to land development. Along the way they cross paths with Irish gangsters, Italian and Jewish mobsters, and the old established Sephardic community. When each brother marries, their paths diverge setting up the next generation to continue their trek to become mainstream Americans.