To whom it may concern:

I've been working on HOPES DREAMS REALITY for over six years. Backdrop is Brooklyn and especially the Red Hook section. Narrative includes a time frame from 1910 to the late 1960's and a ten year old Italian immigrant named Angelo arriving in New York escorted by an uncle, a character with dubious past and reputation.
Due to unexplained circumstances of his parent's death in Sicily and later the brutal execution of his uncle the boy endures a turbulent lifestyle extending into manhood.
Surviving with confused emotions, he inadvertently becomes a subordinate member of the Cosa Nostra as a dock cargo manager. Unknown to his superiors, Angelo despises the criminal group and after the death of his wife due to a botched gangland shooting more so.
The presence of his three year old daughter Angela acts as a barrier from going on a rampage. His days are spent planning for her safety, keeping her ignorant of his involvement with the cartel and praying the worst never comes. Mario, his boyhood friend since the voyage to America, acts as uncle and bodyguard.
Eventually Angelo's deceived by a co-worker and led to a bogus meeting where he's brutally attacked. The result is Angela's determination to avenge her father's murder, a task that proves almost impossible and dangerous but with help from a stranger, the vendetta's carried out. Unknown to them the late mobster's brother, a killing machine by nature, begins putting things together and eventually focuses on Angela. 
To complicate matters, Angela learns she's pregnant and doesn't recall ever having sex with anyone. A psychologist attempts to help her until eventually a baby boy's born. The situation makes her more vulnerable to attack, forcing Mario to carry out a formidable task in order to save her life. 

The mss is 96,000 wds with over two dozen characters and years of research and experiences in New York C.1946 to 1973. Most of the text comes from actual events and my late father's life on the docks. Bits of dialogue comes from neighborhood acquaintances.

Esteban Martinez