Poppell is the white sheriff of McIntosh County, who serves as the top law enforcement official in the area and the de facto political leader of the county. By the beginning of the book, which is set in the early 1970s, Poppell has ruled McIntosh County for decades with an iron fist. He ignores problems like illegal gambling in exchange for a cut of the profits and becomes wealthy by abusing the power associated with his office. He suppresses anyone who expresses discontent with the way he conducts his office; it’s rumored that Poppell has dispatched his deputies to execute unlawful killings. 

Nonetheless, Poppell has managed to curry favor with the white residents of the town of Darien and the majority black residents in the wider McIntosh County through special favors and patronizing benevolence. However, the black community sees no significant improvement in terms of their upward mobility or their political rights during Poppell’s time in office, despite the civil rights movement sweeping the rest of the county. Poppell effectively inherited his position following the death of his father—the previous sheriff—in 1948. Poppell’s reign has gone largely unchallenged, but that balance changes with Alston’s ascent into politics. Poppell dies of cancer and his reign of terror comes to an end, signaling a more democratic future for McIntosh County.