While Trumpet begins 10 days after his death, Joss Moody is the main character. The other characters’ actions, thoughts, and dialogue are either about Joss or in reaction to him. He is a Black British jazz trumpeter who attained international prominence before his death at age 70 in the late 1990s. Because he eschewed doctors and hospitals, his death is a shock to friends and fans. This shock explodes when the public learns that Joss was assigned female at birth. He had been born Josephine Moore, child of a white woman in Scotland and her Black husband, an immigrant from the West Indies.

Because Joss is a private person, only his beloved wife, Millie, knows his secret. To protect his privacy, Millie binds Joss’s breasts each morning. Joss presents as a man in clothing and mannerisms—to the point where his bandmates, closest friends, and even his adopted son Colman did not know he was assigned female at birth.

There is universal agreement that Joss is a musical genius. He can take a word or a story and bring either to life with the trumpet. Over his career, Joss recorded 14 highly regarded albums and began a number of bands; he also toured internationally.