Tim Jamieson resigns from the Sarasota police force after an incident in which he fired a warning shot to break up two boys, one of them holding a gun (that turned out to be a water pistol). Tim’s shot struck a streetlamp, which led to a falling part injuring a bystander. He was cleared of wrongdoing, but the department asked him to resign for the sake of public relations.

Tim intends to head north to New York, but a series of impulses leads him to DuPray, South Carolina instead. There, he sees a flier at the local sheriff’s station requesting a “Night Knocker,” a town watchman of sorts. Tim’s grandfather was a night knocker, so the idea appeals to him. When Sheriff John Ashworth interviews Tim, he learns that Tim was Sarasota’s officer of the year and has a commendation for saving a child from an alligator on a golf course.

Tim makes light of the story: The alligator wasn’t very big or hungry, and he drove it away with a golf club. Ashworth is amused and impressed by Tim’s empathy and level head. When Ashworth offers Tim the job, the latter decides to take it and later watches trains come and go at the depot while thinking about things—and people—being loaded and unloaded.