Ms Dinsmoor had gone crazy several years before after being left standing at the altar by her fiancee. Uncle Joe (Chris Cooper) gets called to Paradiso Perduto ('lost paradise'), home of the richest lady in Florida, Ms. The next day, Finn sees on the news that the convict has been caught, and that he was Arthur Lustig, a former mobster and his sentence is the death penalty. The convict hides on a buoy, and Finn's boat is towed back to shore. The police seize the small boat heading out to sea. Finn does, and the convict unexpectedly tries to make Finn take him by boat to Mexico. An escaped convict (Robert De Niro) suddenly pops out of the water and overpowers him, making Finn promise to bring back food and medicine and a bolt cutter to get the iron shanks off his leg next day. The movie begins with young Finnegan 'Finn' Bell (Ethan Hawke) exploring the beaches of the Gulf Coast of Florida. An incident from Finn's past will catch up with him in New York, and will provide him with a clearer perspective of how he got to where he is. Dinsmoor and Estella can and will manipulate the situation for their own purposes. In accepting the commission, Finn will learn after all these years if things have changed since childhood, including if both Ms. Dinsmoor, who has set up this commission so that he can once again pursue Estella, who is now living there. Despite never having sold any art or pursued it as a career, Finn is approached by lawyer Jerry Ragno, telling him that an unnamed benefactor would like him to go to New York to paint for a one-man show at a prestigious gallery. Regardless, Finn has always loved Estella, that love which exists to this day, despite he not having seen her since she left without a word to attend school when she was in her late teens. This task was despite Estella not showing Finn any interest initially. Dinsmoor, who was seen as a bit of an eccentric, to be the weekly playmate to her niece, Estella, largely as her dance partner.

As a child, Finn was 'hired' by the wealthiest woman in the region, older Ms. He was largely raised by Joe, his older sister Maggie's boyfriend, after his parents died, and subsequently Maggie ran off without a word.

Twenty-something Finnegan Bell, a commercial fisher on his 'Uncle' Joe's boat on the Florida Gulf coast, has always had an affinity for and talent as an artist, although he has not created any art in many years.

Great expectations cliff notes