Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.

A coming-of-age comedy about Jimmy, a quiet, heavy-set high school kid who is constantly tormented by the resident school bully Miles and his cronies. After an altercation on his way home from school lands him a chance meeting with former professional boxer "Action" Jackson and trainer Manny, Jimmy decides to learn how to fight back.