On the eve of Prohibition in 1920, Atlantic City county treasurer Enoch "Nucky" Thompson is looking to cash in. Prohibition may have outlawed alcohol, but in Nucky's world it has opened up highly lucrative opportunities for gangsters and rumrunners looking to provide "liquid gold" for a thirsty nation. In a city defined by notorious backroom politics and vicious power struggles, Nucky battles a relentless federal agent, ambitious underlings, and opportunistic rivals—including Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, and Al Capone.

In Season 1, feeling his handle on his family and his business slipping away, mob boss Tony Soprano suffers a series of anxiety attacks that land him in the office of a psychiatrist. Opening up to his shrink, Tony relates the details of his life as a “waste-management consultant,” and tries to come to terms with the professional and private strains that have brought him to the brink of a breakdown.