Whoreson Jones is the son of a beautiful black prostitute and an unknown white john. As a child, he's looked after by his neighbourhood's imposing matriarch, Big Mama, while his mother works the streets. At the age of 12, his street education begins when a man named Fast Black schools him in trickology. By 13, Whoreson is a cardsharp. At the age of 16 his childhood comes to an abrupt end when he becomes a fully-fledged pimp: cold-blooded and ruthless. As he battles to understand his world, he must learn to live up to his mother's words, First be a man, then be a pimp'.'