As the novella begins, we meet the protagonist Charles Thomas “Tommy” Tester. Tester is 20 years old, lives in Harlem, and shares a “crib” (9) with his ailing father Otis, a retired bricklayer. The usage of crib for apartment gives the reader insight into LaValle’s style of literary yet conversational writing. Tester’s father calls him “Charles” while his friends know him as “Tommy.”

Tommy is a small-time hustler who inherited his parents’ gift for performance but not their musical talent. He dresses in a worn-out suit and carries a scuffed guitar case to give the impression that he is a down-on-his-luck musician. Tommy’s current job is to deliver a small book to a woman in Flushing, Queens, named Ma Att. Tommy knows he will be traveling to an all-white neighborhood and acts docile and inconspicuous on the train as the conductor questions him. When he arrives at Ma Att’s house, she cracks the front door open without letting Tommy inside. He opens the guitar case, and she snatches the book, which gives off a wisp of smoke as it is briefly exposed to sunlight.