The story takes place during three years (1933–35) of the great depression in the fictional "tired old town" of maycomb, alabama, the seat of maycomb county. it focuses on six-year-old jean louise finch (scout), who lives with her older brother, jem, and their widowed father, atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. jem and scout befriend a boy named dill, who visits maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer. the three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, the reclusive arthur "boo" radley. the adults of maycomb are hesitant to talk about boo, and few of them have seen him for many years. the children feed one another's imagination with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house. after two summers of friendship with dill, scout and jem find that someone leaves them small gifts in a tree outside the radley place. several times the mysterious boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but, to their disappointment, he never appears in person.
