"Nucci" is fiction fueled by fact. A coming-of-age saga across generations. His story and vintage photos place you inside his world of thrills and secrets-an insider's story of triumphs and betrayals-with an ending to surprise you more than once.
Nucci's family, the Loyal Repenskys, is a celebrated troupe of equestrian bareback riders brought to America in 1933. Their stories include encounters with Hitler's Sturmabteilung-Stormtroopers-in Berlin and Fidel Castro in Cuba just before his assault on Havana.
"Nucci" begins in 1944, 2-year-old, Nucci, and his mother survive the actual fire that destroyed the Ringling Brothers' big top during a performance in Hartford, Connecticut.
When Nucci learns his father died attempting the quadruple somersault he's shattered. Nonno-Italian for grandfather-tells Nucci he must fly-fulfill his father's legacy.
Enter 10-year-old Burt, Nucci's neighbor and a year older.
Nonno tricks Burt into catching Nucci on low casting then teaches them the act.
After the family's circus tour of Cuba where the boys perform low casting, they return home to a thirty-two-foot-high flying trapeze rigging. Nonno's goal: the boys will learn the triple somersault.
The next two years see the boys polish their high flying. When they're set to practice triples, Nonno succumbs to cancer. The boys are grief stricken. But Willie, a retired flyer, shows up to coach them. A year later the boys' repertoire include major tricks. Next comes the triple.
Willie knows the boys must hone their skills and enlists the aid of 36-year-old Harrison, a friend and owner of a tent company renting a circus tent to a summer resort whose owner-26-year-old, Candice-hopes a circus will save her resort from bankruptcy.
Intrigued by the flying movie Willie sent, Harrison phones and convinces Candice to hire the boys.
While the circus troupe of early 20-year-olds practice for the circus' grand opening, tension mounts for Nucci to go for a triple-he does-Harrison realizes the boys will collide! He yells for Burt to duck-and a fatal collision's avoided.
Alone in the tent that night, Burt sees Harrison enter and hides. Harrison climbs the rope to the catcher's trapeze, make a catcher's lock and dives into the net.
Stunned, Burt thinks, Harrison's a catcher?
Burt succeeds in having Harrison coach the boys, but tells no one he saw Harrison on the trapeze.
The circus' grand opening for the resort disappoints. Candice needs a "draw." Nucci's triple.
After Harrison and Candice's intimate encounter, he reluctantly agrees to push Nucci for the triple he succeeds. The triple attracts crowds. Candice's resort is going black.
Harrison urges Nucci to do the triple while blindfolded. The blindfolded triple is a sensation-packs the tent and resort.
Harrison realizes Nucci's triple has room for a quadruple.
During a quadruple practice Candice stops Burt from catching Nucci. Why? It's there for the taking!
Because Ed Sullivan's TV show will be the exclusive nationwide outlet for Nucci's first blindfolded quadruple.
The day of the Sullivan shoot the tent's jammed-excitement's palpable. But a series of unexpected backstage events may jeopardize it:
Harrison's shocking past is revealed. Burt and Nucci fight. Everyone's past surfaces, the triumphs and betrayals. And Nucci can't balk less the world label him a fake . . . but this time he may die flying blindfolded.
