Obsessed with mob culture, and desperate to fit in, Thomas sets out to fix the 1992 trial of John Gotti. He believes if the plan is executed, it will put him at the center of all that he idolizes. The plot is foiled, setting off events worthy of mob lore. The Wannabe intertwines real people and true events, past and present, with fantasy.

In New York City, Gulley, who's in middle school, lives with his father and step-mother; his paternal grandmother dominates the family's life. In secret, he's recently been in touch with his mother, Kailey, a pool hustler, who wants to win big and take Gulley to Canada. With the help of Teddy Quinette, who runs Quinn's Pool Hall, Kailey may get her shot at big money. Can she win the match, keep her son's confidence, and, using fake documents she gets from Markus, a friend of hers, make it to Canada to start a new life?

A Puerto Rican ex-con pledges to stay away from his former drug dealing ways but finds himself being dragged back by his past connections and the naive machinations of his lawyer and best friend. Hoping to raise enough money to get away from New York, Carlito Brigante takes on the job of running a nightclub, renews an affair with a dancer but old associates and old instincts suck him back into a world of violence and mistrust.

An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.