American Gangster is based on a true story and set in 1968 Harlem, where Frank Lucas Denzel Washington is a driver for Bumpy Johnson, one of the top figures in the city39s criminal world. When Bumpy dies, Lucas swoops in, taking over his predecessor39s empire and expanding it over the next few years with his sale of a particularly potent brand of heroin. Meanwhile, New Jersey cop Richie Roberts Russell Crowe begins to investigate the New York drug world and discovers that there39s a new power in town.