Bumpy Johnson finds himself battling the New York Crime families for control of the lucrative and murderous "French Connection," the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor. ith a distribution syndicate that includes black crime bosses from other major U.S. cities, Bumpy takes a cue from his friend Malcolm X's message of black economic nationalism. His ambitious plan will face challenges from not only the Italians, but his wife Mayme, daughter Elise, rival Adam Clayton Powell, prosecutor Robert Morgenthau, and even Malcolm himself. Once again, Godfather of Harlem explores the collision of the criminal underworld and civil rights in the colorful and tumultuous year of 1964.