Chapter 1 "Where Death Waits" Summary

The book opens in 1925 Detroit during a hot late summer in the city. The auto industry is rapidly expanding as more factories have opened. The auto industry and all of its peripheral industries are evident all over the city and suburbs. Detroit experiences an influx of people looking for work in the high paying auto industry, making Detroit the fourth largest city by 1925. Garland Avenue, a white working-class neighborhood, is located halfway between downtown Detroit and Grosse Pointe. In 1925, colored people begin to move into the area.

When the Sweets move in, the police surround the house and take up positions in various parts of the neighborhood the day the family moves in. On the evening of September 9, 1925, the Garland area residents pile into the streets. Many adults are as curious as the children are...