A letter from America, crafted by a pair of beloved aunts, is sent overseas to relatives in Avellino, Italy. Addressed to the parents of three teenage girls, it implores them to send their daughters to the maiden aunts, for it is only in America where opportunity knocks on every door. The girls leave for America filled with dreams, but their dreams shatter after a startling realization. Can they escape misery and poverty and ultimately find joy? Find out as the three sisters carve out their destinies in American Music. The story opens in 1906 as three teenage sisters are greeted by a pair of beloved aunts on a New York City pier. The sisters soon discover their aunts' deceitful reasons for calling them to America. The eldest sister rebels and attempts an escape late one night. On the fire escape, she encounters a beautiful man, a neighbor from the tenement apartment, one flight above. After she reveals the facts of her troubled experience, she accepts his proposal of marriage. The Angenetti family settles and takes root in the slums on the Lower East Side. The head of the household takes number bets for a living, and admits to being a small fish in the syndicate's big pond. As the illicit business grows, so does the family - along with chaos and crime. Chaos increases within the household as gamblers traipse in and out the kitchen to place bets. The family keeps on the move, one step ahead of the cops. The first-born son plays with matches under the third-born infant's crib; the child is left with a claw-like hand. The family's chaotic way of life is taken as matter-of-fact.