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Summary: Part 1: Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter 1: The Hurricane

The novel opens with the startling discovery of a human skeleton at the bottom of a well in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1972. The skeleton is found accidentally, due to construction on a new housing development. State troopers go to question an old Jewish dancer named Malachi who lives at the site of Chicken Hill's old synagogue. The state troopers inform Malachi that with the skeleton, they also unearthed a belt buckle, thread, and a pendant that has the words "Home of the Greatest Dancer in the World" engraved in Hebrew. Malachi identifies the pendant as a mezuzah, a charm that Jewish people hang on door frames, and it matches the one on his own door. Malachi, whom developers have been trying to buy out for years, becomes a prime suspect. The state troopers announce that they will return for further questioning but, due to Hurricane Agnes, they never get the chance. The hurricane swoops through the town and decimates everything that could have been used against the Jews in the murder case. Even Malachi, the neighborhood's last remaining Jew, disappears after the storm, and the cops never find him.

Chapter 2: A Bad Sign

Chapter 2 begins forty-seven years before the events of Chapter 1. Readers meet Moshe Ludlow, a Jewish theater manager who owns the All-American Dance Hall and Theater and lives on Chicken Hill, a neighborhood populated by immigrant and minority communities. Black musician Chick Webb had put on an excellent performance at Moshe's theater the night before, rivaled only by klezmer musician Mickey Katz's performance two months prior.

The narrative then shifts back in time to delve deeper into Katz's performance, which Moshe coins as the greatest musical event of his life. Jews from all over have flocked to see Katz perform. However, due to unforeseen obstacles such as unfortunate weather conditions as well as translation and publishing issues with the advertisements, the event is nearly a disaster. Katz arrived in a dismal mood due to the bad weather, although one of Moshe's workers, Nate Timblin, was able to raise Katz's spirits with food and drink.

A large crowd of Jews arrive for the musical event and grow restless as the performance is delayed. However, Moshe, who notes that the crowd is the largest gathering of Jews that he has ever seen in America, calms the crowd, welcoming them in and sharing family stories with them. One member of the crowd is a handsome Hasid who boldly declares that he won’t dance with any woman at the event, explaining that he’s searching for a wife, not a dance partner. Yet, as the musical festivities unfold over four consecutive nights of Jewish joy and celebration, Moshe observes the man dance with countless women.

The narrative shifts back in time once more to explain that prior to the event, when Moshe had thought it was bound to be a failure, he had visited the only Jewish grocery store in Chicken Hill, the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. There, the owner and local rabbi, Yakov Flohr, took pity on Moshe and invited him to study Hebrew from his Talmud in a backroom where his daughter Chona also worked. Moshe spends days bonding with Chona, who is disabled due to polio. He confesses his fears for the performance and the debt he has gotten himself into. To comfort him, Chona recites the story of Moses and the burning coals, an incident that left Moses with a permanent speech impediment. Moshe, who barely understands Hebrew, is nonetheless mesmerized by her story and, having developed feelings for Chona, soon proposes to her. Chona says yes and her parents excitedly give their permission. Moshe and Chona are married within a week. Moshe is overjoyed and decides to borrow more money from his cousin Isaac Moskowitz to properly advertise Mickey Katz's performance. This time, ticket sales soar.

Back in the present, Moshe and the Hasid converse the morning after the event and Moshe comments that the Hasid is the best dancer he has ever seen. The Hasid gives Moshe some plum brandy and, contradicting what he said earlier in the weekend, says that he is not looking for a wife. The two men hear a small explosion nearby which the Hasid identifies as a bad sign. He leaves before Moshe learns the dancer's name.

Next section Chapters 3 & 4

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