The 1920s: Two young Jewish boys, Max and Noodles, begin their criminal careers with petty crimes. Noodles, in love with Deborah, ends up in prison and is released during Prohibition. The gang continues to make a fortune, but gradually the relationship between Max and Noodles sours. One day, Max dies in a shootout, and Noodles is left alone, but thirty years later, he receives a letter…
