Joe Goodey, ex-police detective reluctantly turned private eye, isn't enjoying a whole lot of success when a rich businessman hires him to find out who killed his drug addict granddaughter. The case leads Joe to The Institute, a cult living in a mansion down the coast from San Francisco, where Hugo Fischer, self-proclaimed guru, holds rule over a motley tribe of recovering addicts and middle-class seekers after the light.Doing his best imitation of a bull in a china shop, Joe checks into The Institute for an extended visit, only to discover that the killer might not be the only person who wants to stop his investigation for good.

The year is 1909 and Joseph has just immigrated to the United States from Russia. He thinks that life in New York City will be wonderful, but he has not bargained for the challenges of learning English and of resisting the pressures to skip school, steal and fight to earn a place among the boys in his neighbourhood. Just Call Me Joe presents a full picture of life in New York City for the working poor. Anna, Joe's older sister, struggles to cope with the terrible factory conditions of the time. Aunt Sophie must take in boarders to make ends meet. And Joseph must both accept change and remain true to himself in a new city with new challenges.

Life in New York City in the early twentieth century is tougher than Joseph ever dreamed it would be.