The Alabaster River cuts a diagonal path through Black Earth County, Minnesota. Originating in Sioux Lake, it flows 70 miles, crosses the county seat in Jewel, and then flows into Iowa. The river is a popular recreation area for county residents, and it irrigates the surrounding agricultural land. It is full of various sorts of fish, but the most common are channel catfish. The novel is the story of how these fish came to eat Jimmy Quinn.

It is Memorial Day 1953 in Jewel, a small rural town in southwestern Minnesota. It is primarily an agricultural community, and it takes holidays seriously. There is a large parade every year on Memorial Day featuring decorated veterans from various conflicts dating back to the Battle of Wounded Knee. The sheriff, Brody Dern, is one such veteran, but he prefers to remain on duty rather than marching. He is in the local jail playing checkers with a prisoner, Felix Klein, and his dog, Hector, when Herman Ostberg rushes in to tell him that catfish have eaten the body of the recently deceased Jimmy Quinn.