In the early 1900s, the young Vito flees Sicily for America after the local Mafia kills his family. Vito struggles to make a living, legally or illegally, for his wife and growing brood in Little Italy. There he kills the local Black Hand Fanucci after he demands his customary cut of the tyro's business. With Fanucci gone, Vito's stature grows. The family legacy is upended by Michael's business expansion in the 1950s. Now based in Lake Tahoe, Michael conspires to make inroads in the Las Vegas and Havana pleasure industries by any means necessary. As he realizes that even his allies are trying to kill him, the increasingly paranoid Michael also discovers that his ambition has crippled his marriage to Kay and turned his brother Fredo against him. Barely escaping a federal indictment, Michael decides to turn his attention to dealing with his enemies, completing his own corruption.