Based on a true tale of power, corruption and murder, Christopher Walken stars in the story of the largest lynching in American history, Vendetta. Fleeing the famine in Sicily, thousands of Italian families come to America, building their businesses on the docks and in the marketplaces. To the wealthy businessmen and their political cronies it seems like an invasion of property that has to be dealt with. It will be dealt with in New Orleans. Seeking to wrest control of the docks from the Macheca Family, cotton dealer James Houston (Walken) and a ruthless cabal of businessmen orchestrate the murder of one of their own. Nineteen Italian men are arrested for the murder including the heads of the most important families in New Orleans. Nine will be put on trial but their lives aren't balanced on the scales of justice. Their lives are in the hands of an angry mob, marching toward the prison gates, enraged, embittered, and armed.