Zechariah MacIvey, more commonly referred to as simply "Zech" is the central figure of the second generation of MacIvey since Tobias 's original migration south from Atlanta. Zech, is both Sol (Glenda 's son) and Toby 's (Tawanda 's son) father. Sol, to whom we are introduced at the beginning of the novel, before we are taken back through two generations of MacIvey history, is the central character of the last MacIvey generation. It is Zech who develops much of the family 's estate, especially after Tobias 's death. However, unlike his son Sol (who is confronting the exploitative and expansionist tendencies of his own development of the family 's resources), buys the large amounts of land that Sol will later develop in order to "be