The Rolling Bootlegs

The first light novel of Baccano! is The Rolling Bootlegs.

It was published in February of 2003 and is 215 pages long. The U.S. edition was released on May 24, 2016 by Yen Press and is 203 pages long. It was translated by Taylor Engel.

The Rolling Bootlegs was one of of the light novels that the 2007 anime adaptation adapted.

ISBN 4840222785

ISBN 978-4840222785

Synopsis
A Japanese photographer visits New York City in 2002, only to have his camera stolen by a boy and his gang. He meets with a bespectacled immortal who introduces himself as the contaiuolo of the Martillo Family. The immortal recounts the events of November 1930 to the photographer while they wait for Ronny Schiatto to retrieve the camera.

In New York City during November 1930, a man called Barnes succeeds in creating the Cure-All Elixir for the immortal alchemist Szilard Quates. He loses most of the bottles in a conflagration, but manages to save two bottles from the fire.

On the way to Szilard's hideout, Barnes is attacked and knocked out by young thug Dallas Genoard. Young Camorrista Firo Prochainezo rescues Barnes; while Barnes is unconscious, Firo switches out the two bottles of the elixir from Barnes' crate with two bottles of illegal alcohol that he'd acquired for his promotion party.

Soon after Barnes wakes up, Dallas and his goons return and steal his crate from him. Later, Dallas ends up involuntarily leaving the crate with the Gandor Family at the Coraggioso. Szilard devours Barnes and orders Ennis to capture Dallas and his goons. They make Dallas and company incomplete immortals, and order them to go retrieve the elixir from the Gandor Family.

Meanwhile, thieves Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent plan to rob the Martillo Family. While investigating their hideout, they end up attending Firo's promotion party at The Alveare along with the Gandor brothers and the rest of the Martillo executives. During the party, all the attendees unknowingly become immortals after drinking the two bottles of elixir that Firo acquired from Barnes.

While the party is going on, Dallas and his goons raid the Gandor hideout and kill five of their men, reclaiming the box. Isaac and Miria leave the party a little early, and stumble across the Coraggioso right as Dallas' group is exiting it with the crate. Isaac and Miria assume that the crate contains the mafia's dirty bribe money and decide to steal it. Their successful robbery of the crate from Dallas' group (they never realize that the group are the same men who attacked them earlier that day) is witnessed by Ennis from the shadows.

Later on, the Gandor brothers return to their headquarters that night and discover their men's corpses. The police launch an investigation.

The next day, the police (led by Edward Noah) are still investigating the crime scene. Isaac and Miria are dismayed to have learned that the crate actually contains liquor, but decide to give the bottles to the Martillos as a thank you gift for the jar of honey they'd received earlier.

Around noontime, Firo and Maiza are hanging around the Alveare when Isaac and Miria show up with the crate. Firo is taken aback to see the very same crate he'd seen Barnes carrying earlier. Unbeknownst to any of them, Ennis followed Isaac and Miria to the Alveare and spots Maiza talking with them at the honey shop. Isaac and Miria say goodbye to Maiza and Firo and leave the shop.

Ennis leaves in turn to inform Szilard of Maiza's whereabouts. He is overjoyed at the news and demands that she drive him to the Alveare at once. At the same time, Dallas and his goons decide to go find and kill Firo as revenge for the previous day. Over at the Coraggioso, the Gandor brothers decide to head over to the Alveare and speak with the Martillos.

Isaac and Miria meanwhile run into Edward at the crime scene, who informs them of what happened at the Coraggioso. Isaac and Miria mistakenly assume that he means Dallas' gang were part of the Gandors and that they accidentally killed them with their pepper bombs. Fearing what the police and the Gandors might do if they realize that Firo has the Gandors' crate, they run back to the Alveare to warn the Martillos of what has happened.

The two of them accidentally overhear Dallas and his goons talking behind the fence of a factory lot, and are horrified to learn that they have Thompsons. Thinking that they broke out of jail to get revenge on Ennis (again, they don't realize that Dallas' gang are the same people who they stole the crate from), Isaac and Miria vow to save their friend from Dallas' wrath.

Szilard enters the speakeasy at the Alveare and greets Maiza, much to Maiza's horror. Firo and the other executives learn that Szilard killed Maiza's younger brother and many of his friends, and now intends to kill Maiza as well. Angered, they fire on Szilard - only to be shocked when he remains standing. Szilard takes out a machine gun, and blocks Firo's attempts to attack him; Maiza orders Firo to run and inform Molsa Martillo and Ronny Schiatto what has happened.

Firo reluctantly agrees. Szilard opens fire on Firo as he runs off, but Maiza leaps in front of him to block the barrage of bullets. The rest of the Martillo executives are subsequently mowed down by Szilard in front of Maiza's eyes. Ennis immediately attacks Firo as soon as he exits through the back door, and they remember meeting each other the previous day in front of the granary conflagration. As Ennis explains who she and Szilard are to Firo, inside the Alveare Szilard reveals the nature of his past two hundred years of work to Maiza.

Dallas and his two friends come across Firo and Ennis in the alleyway and prepare to kill them, only to be discovered by the Gandor brothers. Dallas attempts to blame the deaths of the Gandor members on Firo, only for Luck Gandor to reveal that he and Firo are childhood friends. The Gandor brothers shoot and kill the three thugs. Ennis' warning to tie the men up comes too late, and Dallas and company revive and shoot the Gandors, Firo, and Ennis dead.

Meanwhile, Isaac and Miria have stolen Szilard's car, and use it to hit Dallas and his goons as they're escaping down the alleyway. They also accidentally hit Szilard, who crashed out one of the window in pursuit of Maiza. Szilard recovers and takes Isaac hostage right as (a regenerated) Ennis rounds the corner, and though he is displeased to learn that Isaac and Miria recognize her orders her to hold them hostage while he deals with Maiza.

Szilard shoots out Maiza's knees while Ennis holds Isaac hostage. She thanks Isaac and Miria, turns, and charges at Szilard - literally stabbing him in the back right as he is about to devour Maiza. Firo rounds the alley corner, shouting Maiza's name; Szilard severs the connection between him and Ennis, and she collapses to the ground, dying. Edward and several other policemen arrive at the front entrance of the Alveare, having heard reports of gunfire.

Isaac and Miria throw their pepper bombs at Szilard, and Firo runs over to Maiza and Ennis. She notes that Firo must be an immortal (to Maiza's surprise). Randy and Pezzo light Szilard's head on fire, and Firo devours Szilard and saves Ennis' life. Edward shows up at the door and demands answers from Firo; when Isaac and Miria distract and run away from the police, he realizes that they are the costumed bandits the FBI is after and orders his men to chase them. As Isaac and Miria run, they take the money they stole from the Genoard Family and scatter it to the surrounding crowds - though they decide to use the last of it to head to California and mine for gold.

Maiza asks Firo to devour him. Firo refuses, and Ronny and Molsa show up while the executives are celebrating their newfound immortality.

In the aftermath, the Gandors capture Dallas and his two goons and place them into individual barrels, which they fill up with cement. The Gandor brothers send the barrels to the bottom of the Hudson River as revenge for their men's murders. Later on, Edward, Bill Sullivan, and Donald Brown locate and deal with Szilard's main group of sponsors.

Szilard is betrayed by his homunculus Ennis, who tells Firo how to kill Szilard. The Gandors catch Dallas and cement him to a barrel, which they sink in the Hudson River as punishment for killing their men.

Back in 2002, Firo is pleased to see that the photographer is on board with the story. He identifies some of the patrons in the restaurant as some of the people from his story - though the photographer is surprised to learn that the immortal is not Maiza but actually Firo.

Chapters

 * One day ago ~In Alveare~
 * A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~
 * A few minutes ago ~On Road~
 * Immediately before ~Gandor Family~
 * Epilogue 1
 * Prologue
 * The First Day
 * At Night
 * The Second Day
 * Epilogue 2

Cultural References

 * The title of the volume is a reference to the band The Rolling Stones.