Set against the first three decades of twentieth century American history, 'The Sucker's Kiss' begins during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Seven-year-old Thomas Moran finds himself accidentally embarking on a career in pick-pocketing that will eventually take him all over the United States as he grows to manhood and becomes a master of his dubious craft.

His picaresque journey takes him through Prohibition and the Depression accompanied by an array of richly drawn characters desperately clutching at the crumbling American Dream: Italian and Chinese gangsters, con-artists, corrupt clergy, speak-easy bootleggers and most importantly Effie, the great love of his life - the woman who tries to save him from himself.