Dill is a teenage protagonist of the novel, about to start his senior year of high school. The son of a Pentecostal preacher imprisoned for possession of child pornography, Dill, who is both musically talented and intelligent, struggles with his identity in relation to his family and his friends. Raised within the church, Dill on the one hand carries within him the teachings of his father, whose approval he seeks even though he has stopped respecting him, while on the other hand forms new bonds and new values with his friends, Lydia and Travis. This struggle between two sets of values in the small Tennessee town of Forrestville forms the core of the novel. 

Dill testified against his father during the trial, and both his parents and other members of the church hold that against him, even though he was only a child. His mother believes Dill should have taken the blame for possessing child pornography because he would have been judged more leniently, and Dill feels betrayed. Dill slowly realizes that he will never get the acceptance and affection he yearns for, and although suffering from depression, he turns more and more to his friends for support.