Kennedy lives in Kibera, one of the worst slums in Nairobi, Kenya. The book opens with Kennedy hiding in his rundown shack, praying that the paramilitary police conducting a raid outside do not find him: “I can feel spiders crawling over my back and rats poking my toes, but I stay still, afraid that any movement will draw the uniformed men” (3).

He is hungry, and food is scarce during raids. He often spends only $2 a week on food. Kennedy goes to his neighbor’s house, Mama Akinyi, for a single bite of porridge to wet his mouth but won’t take more because the food is meant her young daughter. His good friend, Chris, warns him that the police have a picture of Kennedy and are looking for him. In the terror of the raid, he thinks of Jessica, who has already returned to the United States: “All I want to do is write her a letter, tell her how much I love her, and tell her that I should have listened, I should have left” (5). He hides behind a metal panel in his house, hearing the police outside. His door is locked, making the officers believe he is not home; they leave, and Kennedy is safe.