Published in 1928 during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, McKay's novel portrays Harlem post-World War I, through two Black migrants to New York: Jake, a Southern-born African American longshoreman who deserts the U.S. Army and returns to his home; and Ray, an educated Haitian immigrant. With his innovative use of Black dialects, McKay depicts a complex world of Black people, both native-born and immigrant, who experience white racism and intra-Black prejudice as well as sexual freedom and pleasure, all through the prism of Harlem's jazz nightlife.