Oakland lies across the Bay from San Francisco and is the largest city in the East Bay. Much of the city's population is Black, though most of the city's institutions are controlled by white people. This has led to significant tension between Oakland's Black residents and the local police. In 1973, the city is witnessing an increase in violent drug-related crime as local gangs war for control of the burgeoning heroin and cocaine trade. Chief among these gangs is the "69 Mob," run by Felix Mitchell, a/k/a "Felix the Cat."
E. L. Moore lived with his parents in West Oakland. Zeb was a resident of Oakland, having been inserted there in the 1920s as part of the Red Kings' plan to retro-create the West Oakland Kusarikku.