The Price You Pay

A crime thriller, coming-of-age story and a family saga, The Price You Pay unravels in mid-1970s Jersey City, a crumbling town where violence and coercion reign. Young Mickey Wright is thrust into a world controlled by a powerful Teamster local associated with the Genovese crime syndicate. The man who puts him in jeopardy: his father, a free-wheeling policeman well-known to Jersey City's politicians and drug dealers.

When a Black trucker is murdered, Mickey is forced to choose between loyalty to family and the Teamsters or to values he shares with Debbie Olsen, the love of his young life who is the daughter of a solidly middle-class family. Memorable appearances by Mickey's sister, who is broken by her father's foul will, and memories of their late mother haunt the story. The question of whether Mickey can stand tall, break free and live a worthy life of his choosing isn't answered until a final, shocking confrontation.