Chances is a 1981 novel by Jackie Collins

Jackie Collins

Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...

 and is the first novel in The Santangelo Novels

The Santangelo Novels

The Santangelo Novels are a series of novels written by Jackie Collins. The novels focus on the Santangelo family, particularly Gino Santangelo, an Italian-American and former gangster, and his daughter Lucky - as the well as their rivalry with the Bonnatti and Kassari families...

 series. The novel has three focal points, two of them focusing on the main characters of the novel and a third during the New York City blackout of 1977

New York City blackout of 1977

The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout affected most of New York City from July 13, 1977 to July 14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in New York City that were not affected were in southern Queens, and neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which are part of the Long Island Lighting...

.

Synopsis

Chances is broken up into parts , the first part looks at the blackout in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and how this affects the main characters. The second is focused on Gino Santangelo and later includes his children Lucky and Dario. The third part examines the life of Carrie Berkley and later her son Steven.

July 14/15 1977, New York City/Philadelphia

The blackout

New York City blackout of 1977

The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout affected most of New York City from July 13, 1977 to July 14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in New York City that were not affected were in southern Queens, and neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which are part of the Long Island Lighting...

, a real event that Collins describes in some detail affects all the major characters either directly or indirectly.

• Lucky Santangelo was in Costa Zennocotti's office, trying to convince Costa not to let her father Gino Santangelo return to America, she does not know he is in a plane circling the city. When the blackout occurs she is trapped in an elevator
  Elevator
  An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
  
   between floors with Steven Berkley. The two end up talking and when they are rescued from the lift Lucky goes back to Steven's apartment for breakfast and a change of clothes.
• Steven Berkley, a District Attorney
  District attorney
  In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
  
  , was in his friend Jerry Myerson's office working on an indictment
  Indictment
  An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
  
   for Enzio Bonnatti. He ends up trapped in the elevator with Lucky.
• Gino Santangelo was in a plane returning from a seven year tax exile
  Tax exile
  A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.-Legal status:...
  
   in Israel
  Israel
  The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
  
   when the blackout occurs. His plane is diverted to Philadelphia when in a hotel, a flight attendant
  Flight attendant
  Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
  
   tips the press that he is back in the country.
• Dario Santangelo is trapped in his own apartment after his male lover takes his keys, gun and knife. Dario is forced to phone Costa in order to escape alive.
• Costa Zennocotti stays in his office after the blackout, not willing to walk down all the stairs and Dario calls him and says that he needs something "arranged". Costa calls Sal, a freelance enforcer
  Enforcer
  Enforcer may refer to:*A thug who uses physical force or the threat of physical force to coerce others*Enforcer , a role in ice hockey*Enforcer - Gaming :*Enforcer, a units in the Battle Realms video game...
  
   to take out the boy but ends up double crossing him and kidnapping Dario.
• Carrie Berkley drives to Harlem
  Harlem
  Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
  
   in her Cadillac Seville
  Cadillac Seville
  The Cadillac Seville is a luxury-type car that was manufactured by the Cadillac division of American automaker General Motors from 1975 to 2004, as a smaller-sized top-of-the-line Cadillac...
  
   to meet a blackmail
  Blackmail
  In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
  
  er, during the blackout she is targeted by a gang of youths who assault
  Assault
  In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
  
   her and strip her of her jewellery. She is arrested when she is in the area of the riots and looting but her husband, Elliot Berkley, bails her out. The next day, dressed more conservatively, she takes a cab back to Harlem having received another call from the blackmailer.

Gino and Lucky

Gino's story begins in 1921 but backtracks to narrate details of when Gino's parent's, Paulo and Mira Santangelo emigrated to New York City from Italy in 1909 when Gino was three. From an early age Gino takes to a life of crime, stealing a car at the age of fifteen and ending up in a juvenile home.

Main characters

• Gino Santangelo
• Lucky Santangelo
• Dario Santangelo
• Carrie Berkley
• Steven Berkley