Carlito Brigante his way up to being the heroin kingpin of the neighborhood. Around 1970, Brigante (at the age of 40) is arrested during a drug bust and is sentenced to 30 years in prison. This marks the end of the novel, "Carlito's Way". "After Hours", which is the source for the film version of "Carlito's Way", begins with Brigante beating his prison sentence thanks to his lawyer David Kleinfeld. During "After Hours", Carlito tries to leave his life of crime behind and retire in the Bahamas with his girlfriend Gail. Circumstances conspire against him when Carlito innocuously accompanies his young cousin
Carlito's Way legal technicality exploited by his close friend and lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld. Carlito vows to be through with his criminal activities but is persuaded to accompany his young cousin Guajiro to a drug deal held at a bar. Guajiro is betrayed and killed by his suppliers and Carlito is forced to shoot his way out. Later, Carlito takes Guajiro's $30,000 from the botched deal and uses it to buy into a nightclub owned by a gambling addict named Saso with the intention of saving $75,000 to retire to the Caribbean. As nightclub co-owner, Carlito declines several offers for a business partnership