A Flame at the Pier

Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.

Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.

A gallery of characters in Brooklyn in the 1950s are crushed by their surroundings and selves: a union strike leader discovers he is gay; a prostitute falls in love with one of her clients; a family cannot cope with the fact that their daughter is illegitimately pregnant.

In the sixties, Eddie and the Cruisers were the hottest band around. But the tragic death of its lead singer broke the band up...only Eddie is not dead. He works as a carpenter in Montreal, but his love of music forces him to create a new band which will have to struggle with its anonymity.

A new music teacher in a 1955 West Texas home for wayward boys brings new vision and hope for many of the interned boys.