Summary

Sonny – Sonny is once again bailed out of jail by his angry mother, Willie. Narration describes his years of anger at her and at his long-missing father; his years of directing that anger into work for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People); and how he had become the deadbeat father of three children by three different women. An encounter with a frustrated boy whose home he is inspecting for the NAACP leads him to quit his job and, after living with his mother for a while, finding a small apartment and a job of his own, as a bartender in a jazz club.

One night, Sonny's attention is caught and held by the presence and performance of a singer whose name, he eventually learns, is Amani. Sonny becomes obsessed with her, eventually tracking her down to another club. As...