Twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul walks down 125th Street in Harlem. It is Christmas Eve, and he is shopping for Christmas presents. There are two older boys following him.

Even though the streets are decorated for Christmas, Lolly doesn’t feel in the holiday spirit. He is convinced that he will never be happy again now that his older brother Jermaine is dead. It isn’t fair that he was robbed of someone he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. It also isn’t fair that he can’t walk down the street without worrying he will be harassed.

Where Lolly lives, it’s all about crews, territories, and borders. Boys Lolly’s age can no longer go wherever they want: They can only stay in their crew’s territory. The two older boys stop following Lolly when he turns onto Eighth Avenue because it isn’t their territory.

As Lolly walks into the St. Nick Houses, he passes Concrete, a 30-ish man who is always hanging around in the courtyard selling marijuana. St. Nicholas Houses are otherwise known as the projects. Everyone is like a big family. On the steps, Lolly almost trips over Moses, an old drunk man who sometimes sleeps on the stairs.