Synopsis

November of 1931 found West Madison Street teeming with a vibrant mix of Romani, Hungarian, and Czech people. The neighborhood was awash in illicit liquor, distributed by Janos Colescu. A parade of colorful figures populated the streets, including a chestnut vendor whose singsong voice called out, "Get your red-hot che-e-estnuts, the wind is cold." When a drunken knife fight, fueled by the bootleg alcohol, resulted in a Romani death, the eight-member gypsy Senate, led by Victor Bartok and his br