Summary

The story opens on the protagonist, whose name is never given. He is an African-American man who works as a “nomenclature consultant” (22), meaning he is paid to think of good names for products. The protagonist is highly competent and renowned in his field, and he takes pride and satisfaction in his work. The protagonist used to work for a nomenclature consulting firm, but he recently left following a “misfortune” (6) that the narration does not specify. Roger Tipple, the protagonist’s former boss, calls the protagonist to tell him that the town of Winthrop wishes to hire the protagonist to help them rename the town. After the town pays the protagonist’s retainer fee, the protagonist travels to Winthrop, which is a growing industrial suburb. He notices that many things in the town are named Winthrop, such as the Hotel Winthrop, where he will be...