The novel’s Prologue, which takes place in August 1999, introduces readers to the folklore of Willow Springs, one of the novel’s two primary settings. The narrator describes the legend of Sapphira Wade, a young slave woman sold to Bascombe Wade in 1819. According to the Willow Springs locals, Sapphira possessed supernatural powers: “She could walk through a lightning storm without being touched; grab a bolt of lightning in the palm of her hand […] She turned the moon into salve, the stars in a swaddling cloth, and healed the wounds of every creature walking up on two or down on four” (10). In fact, the legend goes that Sapphira bore Bascombe Wade seven sons before killing him, though the exact cause of Wade’s death is disputed. Now, to even speak Sapphira’s name is taboo in Willow Springs.

The Prologue also familiarizes readers with the history of Willow Springs, including its unusual geographical status. Willow Springs is an island that seems to be somewhere between or on the border of Georgia and South Carolina, but it “ain’t in no state” (12), and the only way on or off the island is by way of a single bridge “that [has] gotta be rebuilt after every big storm” (13).