Chapter 1 begins with Frank Chambers—a drifter and the protagonist of the novel—being thrown off a hay truck near Glendale, California. While wandering down the road, Frank finds a diner called the Twin Oaks Tavern, which he describes as “a roadside sandwich joint, like a million others in California” (3). He walks into the diner and meets Nick “the Greek” Papadakis. Frank cons Nick into giving him a free breakfast by lying about meeting someone who is going to pay his bill. Nick offers Frank a job in the diner. At first, Frank is not sure that he wants the job, but he decides to take it when he sees Nick’s wife, Cora. He points out, “From the filling station I could just get a good view of the kitchen [where she was]” (5).

Frank goes into the kitchen on an errand to help an angry customer. While there, he has his first conversation with Cora. Frank sizes her up, and she admits that she dislikes her husband. He observes, “It was being married to that Greek that made her feel she wasn’t white, and she was even afraid I would begin calling her Mrs.