One day in 1948 Los Angeles (LA), California, the narrator, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, a Black man in his late twenties, visits a bar run by his friend, Joppy Shag. Easy is surprised to see a white man in light clothing enter the bar. Joppy introduces the man, Dewitt Albright, as a friend of his, though Easy senses that Joppy is afraid of Albright.

Albright expresses his dislike for big companies and predatory banks, then offers a job to Easy, who recently lost his job at an aircraft manufacturing plant. When Easy asks about Albright’s work, Albright explains that he “does favors for friends, and for friends of friends” (5). Albright gives Easy an address and tells him to visit him there if he wants the job.

Easy reviews Joppy’s backstory. A highly successful boxer in the 1930s, Joppy gave up boxing 10 years ago following the death of his uncle, a bartender. Joppy transported his uncle’s marble bar from Houston to LA to open his own bar, which is right above a butcher’s warehouse.

After Albright leaves, Easy asks Joppy about him. Joppy explains that he met Albright during his boxing days and describes him as a tough businessman who goes “wherever they’s a little

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