Summary

The novel opens with a note from the author suggesting that much of what follows is true but that various details and identities have had to be changed or obscured for legal reasons.

Chapter 1 is told from the perspective of a 44-year-old African American writer named Soot. Soot is attending an event to promote his book in Minnesota. It is very cold and he is unused to the weather. The previous week, some people were killed in a mass shooting at the location he is speaking at. Soot’s books speak to topics such as racism, gun violence, and police brutality, so he is accustomed to speaking about these topics at his events, but it is unusual for him to be present in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy. A car collects him from the airport. The driver is shaken up by the...