A young boy sets out to find his mother. After setting up camp in Central Park, he encounters a group of people even needier than himself.

An eccentric acting professor convinces one of her students to act as her dead sister in her apartment.

Seduced by the brutal New York underworld, future gangster legend Carlito Brigante enters a deadly circle of greed and retribution. Assisted by his two brothers-in-crime, Carlito is on the fast track to becoming Spanish Harlem's ultimate kingpin. He quickly learns, however, that the only way to survive at the top is through loyalty to his friends and respect for the rules of the street.

Marcus is a New York City street kid torn between his friends' criminal activities and a girl trying to keep him out of trouble.

The story of New York actor Charles Rodgers, a man who hates his Black skin and all the hardship that comes with it. Feeling trapped by his race, Charles believes he has found the solution to his problems - change his appearance to embody "Whiteness" - erase all that he has ever been and join the group he believes he should be a part of. But is this ever possible?

The lives of diverse characters in each of New York City's five boroughs overlap.

Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.