After a brief introduction, in the 60s, to three young criminals, Lebanese, Ice and Dandy, the film jumps forward to the 70s prison release of Lebanon. It's the birth of a smart and ruthless organization which soon crushes all its rivals assuming total control of the Roman drugs, and other criminal, business. Their progress, and changes in leadership, is viewed over twenty-five years and is inseparably intertwined with the dark history of modern Italy; terrorism, kidnappings and corruption at the highest levels of government. As the three friends head to the end of an era only one question remains - when all vendettas are executed and scores settled who, if any, will survive the empire they've created? Romanzo Criminale is a tough, intelligent and gripping gangster thriller based on the real life story of the Banda della Magliana criminal gang.