12-year-old Sarny, the narrator, reflects on how Nightjohn came to the plantation where she is a slave. Some people say she summoned him with “witchin” (14), but this isn’t the case.

Sarny’s biological mother no longer lives at the plantation; she was sold by the slave overseer and plantation owner, Clel Waller. Waller is a cruel master whom Sarny both hates and fears. Sarny was raised by Mammy, also known as Delie. Mammy raises all the slave children as their birth mothers, or “breeders,” must return to work after giving birth. She keeps track of the children’s ages by marking notches in a stick for each year that passes. Sarny’s stick has 12 notches, but she cannot count them herself as she never learned numbers. Once girls reach puberty, they become breeders. Though the girls are still children, they help Mammy cook, clean the slave quarters, and watch the other children. Sarny is quiet and learns by listening and observing. At night, she reflects on the things she learned during the day and adds them to what she learned on previous days. She also wonders about her birth mother—what she looked and sounded like. It was on such an occasion of reflection that Sarny first heard about Nightjohn.