When Elaine, an adventurous young woman from Germany, arrives in New York City, she sets out to be a famous writer. After a brief stint at a mundane job, Elaine falls on hard times and also becomes intrigued by a mysterious stranger named Lulu. Before long, Elaine gets roped into situations involving theft, murder and the mob. Can the beleaguered expatriate with big dreams turn her life around and steer clear of crime and chaos?

A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.

A slice-of-life story unfolds inside The Florentine, a bar in a Pennsylvania steel town whose brightest days are behind it, leaving behind many of life's disillusioned "losers." Its owner, Whitey, is deep in debt to the town's loan shark, Joe McCollough, and desperate for a path forward which won't cost him the bar. His sister, Molly, is days away from her long-awaited nuptials, and then her former fiancé, Teddy, shows up in town for the first time since leaving her at the altar years before. Ne'er-do-well Billy Belasco runs a con on Frankie to steal the money for the wedding caterer, while long-time regular Bobby becomes a patron-cum-inhabitant as he hides from his fast-crumbling marriage to Vikki. Every plot in this multi-layered story seems to be at its nadir just as a pair of unlikely heroes emerge out of the backdrop to turn everything around.

The flamethrower-wielding vigilante John Eastland returns to rid New York of a drug lord and his gang.

New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.

Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.

Haunted by childhood memories of his father's murder, Frank Carroll, a private detective/circus clown, sets out on a mission of vengeance. Jingles Carroll, a gentleman in a red nose, was gunned down in cold blood by Max & Fudge, two members of a secret society, as his young son watched in horror. Now, twenty years later, Frank strikes back.