Summary:

Jimmy, a seventeen-year old, poor, orphan boy surviving in New York in the 1890s, lived to protect his younger friend Eddie (only fourteen years old). Jimmy always found Eddie a place to sleep, kept him safe from the goons they often found themselves quarreling with, and always did anything he could to make sure Eddie could live a decent life. Then, during the escape from a failed jewelry store robbery, Eddie was shot by the police. So, Jimmy, desperate to obtain the money that could buy his friend a chance to avoid death, decides to attempt robbing people on the street. The first person he tries to rob is a young girl named Crystal. He offers her a shoe shine, then when her guard is down, steals her purse. He's quickly apprehended by the cops, bought back to Crystal and the cops ask her if Jimmy stole her purse. She lies (due to the fact that she sees Jimmy's poor, broken state) and tells them that she gave the purse to Jimmy, for it had a message that she needed to get to her mother and they leave him with her. She offers him a place at her apartment with her, her brother, and her rich parents. He goes, reluctantly, and stays for a while. During this time, he falls for Crystal and she for him. Now, Jimmy is stuck with a choice: love or friendship.