Mafia III is set in the year 1968, and revolves around Lincoln Clay, a biracial orphan. As a boy, he was adopted by black mobsters and later served in the Vietnam War. After being discharged, he returned to New Bordeaux (a fictionalized version of New Orleans) and was subsequently inducted into the black mob. For his first assignment, he works with Giorgi Marcano, heir to the Marcano crime family, to rob the Federal Reserve. The money is divided evenly, but Giorgi and his father have other plans. They stage an ambush back at the meeting point (a black-owned bar), killing all of the mob's leaders and leaving Lincoln for dead with a bullet in his skull. After a friendly priest, Father James, saves his life, Lincoln sets out to rebuild the mob and exact revenge against the Marcano crime family and their associates. He also seeks the help of other crime bosses, including Cassandra, Burke, and Vito Scaletta, as well as his former Army handler, John Donovan, who provides Lincoln with intelligence on the Marcano family's members and operations.