When his father is framed for murder, immigrant son Nikolaus McGovern rallies together a motley crew of street youths in a rip-roaring coming-of-age adventure based on the period history of antebellum New York City! Set against the backdrop of rampant political corruption, vicious street gangs, nascent labor reform and ardent xenophobia—can Niko and his friends triumph in a life-and-death battle against their oppressors, or will they succumb to the engines of socio-economic progress?