It's 1939 and Easy and Mouse are young men just setting out in
life--Easy has yet to develop his skill for unraveling the secrets of
others, and Mouse has yet to kill his first man. But all that will soon
change.In the beginning there was Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins and Raymond
"Mouse" Alexander, two young men setting out in life, hitting the road
in a "borrowed" '36 Ford headed for Pariah, Texas. The volatile Mouse
wants to retrieve money from his stepfather so he can marry his Etta
Mae. But on their steamy bayou excursion, Mouse will choose murder as a
way out, while Easy's past liaison with Etta Mae floats precariously in
his memory. Easy and Mouse are coming of age and everything they ever
knew about friendship and about themselves is coming apart at the seams.
As Mosley takes Easy and Mouse on this journey to manhood, he weaves
together a remarkable cast of friends and foes, who are introduced here
for the first time and will later appear in Easy Rawlins mysteries. This
is the chance to unravel the mystery behind the souls of every
character.