THE GRAPES OF SAN MARCO

      President of Century City International Bank, Mark Monaco, single, early 30's, dressed stylish, zips his Mercedes in-and-out of heavy traffic down Wilshire Boulevard. He grimaces and cringes as cars beep their horns and drivers shout at each other. Finally, he screeches into the parking structure of his bank in Century City. Exiting the parking structure, Mark walks through a diverse ethnic crowd in the bank plaza celebrating "Los Angeles Ethnic Week." A variety of languages and music can be heard as people sell their native art and jewelry. Mark looks with interest as he walks to Tony's Barber Shop, a few stores from the bank, and then enters.
      As Tony trims Mark's hair, Mark casually mentions he thinks he is in need of a vacation. Tony tells Mark - who has totally assimilated into the American mainstream - that he should relearn something about his Italian heritage and visit his relatives in Italy. Mark answers he has no idea who his relatives are or where they live in Italy.
      Later, at his bank, Mark receives a long distance call from Nino Lombardo, a bank president in Rome who he had done business with before. Making small-talk, Lombardo asks Mark - as he had many times before - when Mark was coming to see the wonders of Italy and to look up his relatives - "Who knows, you may be related to Leonardo da Vinci," exclaims Lombardo, jokingly. Amenities over, Lombardo then asks for a loan, adding he was offered a loan from a local bank at a very low interest rate, but had a feeling that it was laundered drug money. Mark agrees to the loan.
      As they talk, Mark hears Italian music, looks out the window as Italians now perform outside in the plaza and nods his head and taps his foot to the music. He tells Lombardo he just might fly to Italy to negotiate the loan himself, see the wonders of Italy and to maybe even look up his relatives. Unknown to Mark or Lombardo, a clerk in Lombardo's office listens to their conversation. The man is a spy for the other bank who wants to loan Lombardo the money they want laundered.
      At dinner that night, Mark tells his mother, brother and cousin that he's thinking about going to Italy on business and that he'd like to visit relatives. His mother tells him his late father came from a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde family and not to visit his relatives. Mark is undeterred. Reluctantly, she tells Mark the relatives live in the small town of San Marco in Southern Italy.

      As Mark flies to Italy, we see the reality of his relatives in Italy: A run-down house with a goat grazing on sparse front lawn and a sign on gate that reads, "Antonio Monaco-Mortician." Near bankrupt, Mark's uncle, Antonio Monaco, laments to his wife, Domenica, "How did the hell did I wind up a mortician in a town where no one's died in seven years! "The old ones say it's the wine we drink," comments one of his sons. "They believe the wine is blessed by the water that came up from the ground at the vineyards during that last earthquake."
      Antonio grimaces and stabs himself in the heart with an invisible knife. His wife comforts him and then remarks that her 99 year old cousin, Mario Sticco, who "jogs' (very slowly) through the hills daily, has made her sole beneficiary in his will. Antonio's eyes open wide.
      Later, on the edge of a hill balancing a large empty wine barrel, Antonio and his sons wait for Mario to jog below. Mario appears with his dog, Caesar. Caesar looks up as some pebbles roll down the hill. Caesar runs up the hill and growls menacingly and stalks Antonio and his sons. The men panic, run back down their side of the hill as the wine barrel crashes down behind them. Caesar then rejoins Mario on their daily excursion.

      Mark arrives in Rome and checks into his hotel. A meek, little man from next room knocks and asks if he can use Mark's phone because his is out of order. Mark agrees and while the man calls, Mark carries his shaving kit into the bathroom - leaving the bathroom slightly open. Shortly, Mark hears a scuffle, peaks out, and sees two sinister, Mafia-looking men tape the meek, little man's mouth and drag him from the room. Laughing, one of the kidnappers quips, "Don't worry Mr. Monaco, we're not going to harm you, we're just going to keep you incommunicado for a while."
Unknown to Mark, the kidnappers work for Nino Lombardo's cousin, Carmine Bellanazzo, also a banker, who doesn't want Mark to loan Nino the money because Carmine is the one who wants to unload drug money from his bank into Nino's bank.
      After the kidnappers leave, Mark calls Nino, who arrives quickly. Mark tells Nino that it might be safer if he, Mark, visits his relatives in San Marco while Nino tries to find out why Mark was almost kidnapped. Nino realizes what his cousin, Carmine, has done, but says nothing, and tells Mark it was a good idea for him to go visit his relatives, but not tell them he's a bank president.
      Mark meets Antonio Monaco and his family in San Marco. Mark tells them that he is a simple bank clerk. Financially strapped, Antonio is unimpressed with his "poor" American relative. In time, Mark becomes attached to beautiful Gina who was raised by Antonio Monaco and his wife Domenica. However, Gina is engaged to playboy singer, Bruno Zampezi. Mark watches in anguish as Bruno carouses with other women. Mark and Gina become good friends. Gina finds herself attracted to Mark, but is loyal to Bruno.
      Mark, soon finds his health in jeopardy as the local, over-sexed Pazzarello sisters make a bet which one of them can sleep with Mark the most times. Mark learns that his family once owned the local vineyard. Curious, Mark does some investigating. Antonio keeps trying to do away with Mario so his wife can inherit Mario's money, but Caesar foils his every attempt. Antonio's financial problems escalate when his wife, the church treasurer, learns Antonio has spent all the money that she was supposed to be saving for a new church statue.
      By chance, Antonio learns Mark is a bank president. Antonio calls Mark's mother, tells her Mark's been kidnapped and has two men making sure Mark doesn't leave town.
      Mark learns from Gina that he's supposed to be kidnapped and together they plan Mark's escape. Mario drops dead (everyone thinks). However, Mark hides in the Mario's coffin before the funeral and escapes. Mark returns home to America, but is bored. He realizes he misses Italy and the friendship of Gina. He returns to Italy to confront despicable Antonio and to see if Gina has married Bruno.