''Chances'' is a 1981 novel by

Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times B ...

and the first in her ''Santangelo'' novels 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 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...

. The novel made the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Bestseller list upon its release.

Synopsis

''Chances'' is broken up into parts. The first part looks at the

blackout Blackout(s), black out, or The Blackout may refer to: Loss of lighting or communication * Power outage, a loss of electric power * Blackout (broadcasting), a regulatory or contractual ban on the broadcasting of an event * Blackout (fabric), a t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and how this affects the main characters. The second is focused on Gino Santangelo and later includes his children Lucky and

Dario Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name * Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper * Dario Bellezza ...

. The third part examines the life of Carrie Berkley and later her son

Steven Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

July 14/15 1977, New York City/Philadelphia

The

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

Costa Zennocotti Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

'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 An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

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 In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, was in his friend Jerry Myerson's office working on an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

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 A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

when the blackout occurs. His plane is diverted to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

when in a hotel, a

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

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, his gun, and his 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 to take out the boy but ends up double-crossing him and kidnapping Dario. * Carrie Berkley drives to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

in her

Cadillac Seville The Cadillac Seville is a mid-size luxury car manufactured by Cadillac from the 1976 to 2004 model years as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004 for the 2005 model year. Origin of the name The name of "Cadillac's ...

to meet a

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

er, during the blackout she is targeted by a gang of youths who

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

her and strip her of her jewelry. 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 Paulo is a Portuguese language, Portuguese masculine given name equivalent to the English name Paul (given name), Paul. Notable people with the name include: * Paulo Jr., Brazilian bassist * Paulo Jr. (footballer), Brazilian footballer * Paulo A ...

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.

Epilogue

Main characters

* Gino Santangelo * Lucky Santangelo * Dario Santangelo * Carrie Berkley * Steven Berkley

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chances (Novel) 1981 British novels Novels set in New York City Santangelo novels Warner Books books