Dito is a successful writer living in Los Angeles, who is summoned home to Astoria after a 15-year absence when his father becomes seriously ill. Memories of his youth come flooding back as he revisits the old neighborhood, attempts to rebuild a relationship with his father and encounters his 'saints'--Dito's few childhood friends who aren’t in prison or dead. As Dito finds himself whisked back into the youthful events that shaped him, an unforgettable cast of characters unfolds to the sweltering heat of summer 1986. These include Laurie, Dito's childhood sweetheart; Mike O'Shea, a transplanted Scot with an Irish name who dreams of becoming a punk rock musician; Giuseppe, a reckless, destructive and possibly insane member of Dito's street posse; and the unforgettable Antonio, Dito's cocky and volatile best friend grappling with an abusive father.