The Sweetest Oblivion

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of graphic violence, emotional abuse, sexism, addiction, and sexual harassment.

Twenty-one-year-old Elena Abelli lives on Long Island with her parents Salvatore and Celia Abelli and younger sister Adriana Abelli. One day, she sits in the kitchen and watches the news on television. A report of murder makes her reflect on her life as a mafia boss’s daughter. She guiltily twists the plastic ring on her finger remembering her own involvement in a murder six months prior. She refuses to take off the ring until she rights this wrong.

Celia enters and asks Elena to come to church to meet Nicolas (Nico) Russo. Salvatore arranged his marriage to Adriana. Elena has no interest in meeting him. At 29, Nicolas has been the “youngest sitting don” since his dad Antonio Russo’s death (3). He’s rude and Elena doesn’t think he’s right for Adriana. However, she knows via her cousin Benito that the marriage is for an alliance over an arms deal. Per Celia’s urging, Elena joins the family at church. She catches Nicolas’s eye from across the room and glares.

Later that day, Nicolas returns to the house to join the family for lunch.