Two years have passed since the events of Part 1. Ray is working at his furniture store and receives a visit from Zippo, an old associate from his early days as a fence. Zippo earned his nickname as a child because of his pyromania. Zippo is flamboyantly dressed in snakeskin pants and a “megawatt yellow” blouse. He is filming a movie and would like to use Ray’s store as one of his locations. He plans to pay Ray in “points,” meaning Ray will receive a percentage of the film’s final profit. Zippo’s career has evolved since Ray was last in contact with him. He moved into legitimate, professional photography and then earned an art degree from the Pratt Institute. The only child of a Black man from Alabama and a wealthy white woman of Jewish descent, he stood to inherit a sizeable fortune from his uncle Herschel. Zippo’s personality is just as flamboyant as his clothing, and he is known for outrageous behavior and an eccentrically decorated loft called the Grotto. While at Pratt, Zippo advanced from photography to film, and upon the completion of his degree, temporarily moved to Los Angeles to chase after a casting agent named Doris.