It is 1957 when thirteen-year-old Frankie "Paco" Alexander meets his adoptive godfather, Don "Mr. G" D'Amico, for the first time. Handicapped after a bout with spinal meningitis, Frankie is grateful to escape daily bullying and immerse himself in new friendships with Mr. G's children. Mr. G treats Paco as one of his sons, especially after Paco trusts a foreboding feeling one day and saves Mr. G from certain death.

While Paco matures, Mr. G takes the boy under his wing and mentors him through life's challenges. But when Paco finds love at age eighteen, he has no idea that Carol's father is the godfather of another mob family. After he secretly marries her in Canada and she becomes pregnant, it seems Paco has finally found happiness. But when Mr. G arranges Carol's murder, a grief-stricken Paco is transformed into a ruthless killer. Years later as the circle of life leads Paco to a confession with a childhood priest, he finds redemption and is led to unite factions of his Italian family into one of the world's most powerful conglomerates.

Crippled Sunrise shares the saga of a young man's coming-of-age journey into manhood after he is adopted by a prominent godfather and discovers the good, bad, and ugly of the Mafia.