From Hubert Selby Jr's controversial best seller, comes this gritty screen adaptation of the once-banned novel. It's 1952, and the rough dock district of Brooklyn is an area in social turmoil. Dockworkers are in the middle of a violent, long-runnning strike and the G.I.s on their way to the Korean War are the target of the violent, thieving locals. The film simultaneously follows episodes in the lives of several of the residents as they all struggle to survive and drive head-long on a tragic course of mutual self-destruction. A young, hard-drinking hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the bait for a gang of local thieves who rob from her clients. The corrupt union boss (Stephen Lang) begins a homosexual affair with tragic results. A striking dock worker struggles to deal with his unmarried daughter's pregnancy. It's a harsh, uncompromising look at the seedy underbelly of American society, and a devastatingly realistic movie that is simply unforgettable.