Summary

The novel opens by introducing the protagonist Yamaye, a woman of Jamaican heritage living in London, and her friends Asase, who is of Caribbean descent, and Rumer, who is Irish. The three refer to their group as the “Tombstone Estate gyals” (3), and they are heading toward a dancehall club called Crypt. At the club, Yamaye is approached by a man that she finds suspicious, but she is unable to get away from him and he refuses to let her go until he leaves to smoke a cigarette. She sees another man, who introduces himself as Moose and asks her to dance. Moose takes Yamaye out to get some fresh air. They speak about the neighborhood. Yamaye notices the man who had forced her to dance earlier; Moose says he is...