Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Matthew Desmond tells the story of eight families and their experiences with eviction and poverty.[4] The families are diverse in race, age, and gender, yet all struggle with rent payments, which consume the majority of their already meager income.[4]
Arleen Belle, a member of one of the eight families Desmond documents, is a Black single mother struggling to secure housing with her low income.[6] Lamar, a Black man who had lost both of his legs, has to look after a group of boys while burdened with debt.[6] Scott, a white male nurse, struggles to pay rent in a trailer park while struggling with heroin addiction.[6] The book is centered around the families’ interactions with their two landlords: Sherrena and Tobin.[4] Through following the lives of these families and individuals, Desmond illustrates the psychological, legal, and discriminatory aspects of eviction and how it is intertwined with poverty.[4]
Desmond advocates for a universal housing voucher program from the U.S. government for families below a certain income threshold so that they pay no more than 30 percent of their income on housing.[7]
