Damien Russo

The Commission of Angels Damien Russo

Set in New York, New Jersey, and Las Vegas in the late 1970s, early '80s, The Commission of Angels is the intricate story of one man's struggle to shed his violent past--a past that repeatedly betrays him. Angelman is the last of a dying breed of Mafia hitmen schooled in La Cosa Nostra's tradition of family and honor. After the malicious murder of his parents, Angelman is taken in by the only family he comes to know and trust. The family protects him...and then trains him to kill with cold precision.

Betrayal follows after years of loyal service, when the family turns its back on Angelman by doing nothing when his beloved young godson is brutally assaulted and permanently disfigured by one of their own. Angelman, with the help of his uncle Sal, goes against the family's ruling and carries out the unsanctioned murder of his godson's assailant. He disappears to Las Vegas, where he dons a new identity as a casino blackjack dealer and immerses himself in a world of abundant alcohol, drugs, and gambling. Angelman attempts to distance himself from his past, but he can't outrun, outdrink, or outdrug his heritage--or the blood on his hands. After years of delusional decadence and vital decline, when a brother sets his sights of vengeance on him, Angelman prepares himself to kill again, and knowingly becomes a pawn in the power struggle between rival Mob members trying to gain control of a dominant New York Mafia Family.