The last plan of Don Domenico Clericuzio, an aging Mafia boss, is to eventually have his family enter the legitimate world and assimilate into American society.

Twenty-five years later, his grandson Dante and grandnephew Crocifisso "Cross" De Lena make their way through life, and the eighty-year-old Don is semi-retired.

Cross, who holds a majority share in a Las Vegas casino, is supposed to become the strong arm of the family.

The story ends with the revelation that Don Clericuzio planned this outcome, even anticipating his grandson's death, all along, for the long-term survival of his family.

The Last Don was the basis for the 1997 CBS television miniseries of the same name written by Joyce Eliason and starring Joe Mantegna, Danny Aiello, and Daryl Hannah.