Five Jew­ish young New York­ers brought togeth­er on the verge of great­ness — by the chance of fate — do bat­tle to tran­scend through pangs of City grit and plea­sure, to achieve. Helen, a mod­ern woman caught between pro­fes­sions, men and fears, has a stark choice to make. Jacob, a vio­lin prodi­gy, fran­ti­cal­ly writes a sym­pho­ny to win his love and prove him­self. Con­rad, ambi­tious Tex­an in New York, catch­es a break beyond his wildest dreams, with just one caveat. A child­hood sin he can’t expunge takes play­boy-at-his-peak Lisan­dro from dream life to damn­ing night­mare, half a world away. Sen­a­tor’s son and jour­nal­ist Aidan risks every­thing for sto­ry that will make him great. In the dark heart of Africa, against the Russ­ian win­ter and the heel of influ­ence, in the East-West bazaar of choice and genius mind of Jacob Frenkel, the met­tle of a gen­er­a­tion will be forged.