In June 1950, twelve-year-old Robert Stephens wakes in his family’s poor cabin near Gracetown, Florida, hoping the shadow he sometimes senses is his dead mother visiting him. The moment passes, and ordinary hardships return: his father is away in Chicago, money is scarce, and the smell of ham from the nearby McCormacks’ turpentine camp sharpens Robert’s hunger. A package from Chicago arrives, but the new boots inside are much too large. Gloria insists Robert wear them anyway, explaining that he will grow into them and reminding him that their father expects gratitude, not complaints.

Robert and Gloria set out on their long walk to the Frederick Douglass colored school. Their conversation reveals the family’s strained circumstances and Gloria’s determination to prepare Robert for a future in Chicago by making him act properly, stay in school, and wear shoes. Robert thinks about how vulnerable Black people are in town, including how even carrying a schoolbook can draw harassment, and he repeats the commandment against stealing as he passes the McCormacks’ well-fed piglets and fights his hunger.

Along the road, Lyle McCormack, a white teenager Robert once swam with as a child, calls out to them from the pines. At first the exchange seems casual, but Robert realizes Lyle is really focused on Gloria, not him. Lyle invites them back to the swimming hole and presses Gloria to come alone on Sunday. Gloria tries to refuse politely, using a careful, deferential tone to avoid provoking him.

Lyle crosses the fence, keeps pace with them, and grabs Gloria’s arm. He flirts more openly, comparing her favorably to girls at Pixie’s and hinting that she could do more than housework. Robert understands that Lyle’s attention is dangerous rather than flattering, especially in a world where any hint of interracial desire can turn deadly for Black people. When Lyle leers and winks at Gloria, Robert’s fear, grief, and anger boil over.

Robert steps between Lyle and Gloria and tells Lyle to leave her alone. After Lyle shoves him aside, Robert impulsively kicks Lyle in the knee with his oversized new boot. Gloria immediately tries to smooth things over, calling Robert foolish and apologizing, while Robert realizes he has crossed a terrifying line by striking a white boy, especially a McCormack. Lyle threatens him but seems ready to let it end there.

That fragile escape collapses when Red McCormack, Lyle’s father, appears from the field and sees the aftermath. Lyle admits that Robert kicked him, even while trying to minimize it. Red reacts instantly and brutally, striking Robert across the ear so hard that both Robert and Gloria scream, ending the chapter with the violence Robert had feared from the moment he lost control.