Summary

Chapter 1

Sethe and her daughter Denver were the only living residents in the house on Bluestone Road, called 124, near Cincinnati, Ohio. It was in 1873 when Sethe’s sons Howard and Buglar had run away; they were unable to deal with the destructive and bothersome ghost within the house. Not long after Howard and Buglar left home, Sethe’s mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, died. It was then that Sethe, Denver and the ghost, believed to be Sethe’s two-year-old daughter, remained. House 124 was the house the neighbors knew to avoid.

Returning from work, Sethe arrived at 124 to find an old friend Paul D who sat waiting for her on the porch. Paul D was one of the slave boys who lived at Sweet Home. There had been five slave boys when Sethe was brought there; one was Halle Suggs, Sethe’s husband. It had been 18 years since...