Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of domestic violence, racial violence, psychological abuse, anti-gay bias, racism, suicide, and murder.

The story begins on Thanksgiving 1954, and the Prologue describes events from the perspective of an old boarding house known as Briarwood House in Washington, DC. The building watches as a detective interrogates 17 people inside the house. A murdered body lies in one of the apartments on the fourth floor. The house says, “It’s held enough holidays to know that when you throw all that family together and mix with too much rum punch and buried resentment, blood is bound to be shed sometimes” (1).

Note: Each chapter features recipes members of the Briar Club or their associates prepare. The instructions include humorous directions for the conditions under which each dish ought to be consumed and the music that should accompany it. Although these recipes are only tangentially related to the plot, they are mentioned at the head of each chapter to provide context.

The chapter includes recipes for Grace’s Sun Tea and Pete’s Swedish Meatballs.

The story skips back in time to June 1950, and a 12-year-old boy named Pete is the narrator.