The book, set in Maycomb County, Alabama, during the depression, follows the Finch family: Scout (the daughter), Jem (her older brother), and Atticus (their father, a lawyer). The big event in the novel is the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Around this centerpiece flows ordinary life in a small Southern town, populated with a colorful cast of characters and punctuated by the adventures of the children. “To Kill a Mockingbird” tackles big themes, but they are shown through a child’s eyes as Scout relates the events and her reactions to them in the first person.