Pittsburgh, mid-1950s. Troy Maxson is a sanitation worker, working a shift with his best friend Jim Bono. Troy has been happily married to Rose for 18 years and they have a teenage son, Cory. Regularly popping in and out of their lives is Gabe, Troy's brother who suffered brain damage while fighting the Japanese in WW2, and Lyons, Troy's 34-year old son from a previous relationship. Troy was a baseball star in the late-1930s, playing in the Negro League, and still bears a grudge for his not being able to play Major League Baseball. He projects this, and other experiences, onto everyone around him, particularly Cory, who has the potential to be a football star. More than just influencing Cory's career prospects (adversely, it appears), Troy has a larger-than-life impact on the lives of everyone around him.—grantss