What is the summery of To Kill a Mockingbird?

The action of To Kill a
Mockingbird centers around the narrator and protagonist of the story, young
Scout Finch. The story takes place over a two and one-half year period, beginning when
Scout is five. Her father, Atticus, is a prominent attorney in their small town of
Maycomb, Alabama; he is a single parent whose wife died of a heart attack, leaving him
to bring up Scout and her older brother, Jem. The action of the first part of the novel
develops around the Finch children's relationship with summer visitor Dill Harris, and
his obsession with a mysterious, unseen neighbor, Boo Radley. Boo has been unjustly
accused of many bizarre events, and the children are at first terrified of him, but they
still pursue their goal of getting a peek at Boo, who never leaves his house during the
daylight hours. The children begin receiving gifts in the knothole of a tree on the
Radley property, and they soon come to learn that Boo is harmless and wants to be their
friend, too.

The second part of the novel concentrates on
the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman.
Atticus defends Tom, and it becomes evident to Jem and Scout--and the reader--that Tom
is innocent; nevertheless, Tom is found guilty by the all-white jury. The two main plots
are tied together in the end when Boo saves the children from a murderous attack by Bob
Ewell, whose daughter had unjustly accused Tom of the rape. Boo kills Bob, Jem is badly
injured, Scout finally gets to meet Boo, and Scout comes to realize that Boo has been a
watchful neighbor, keeping an eye on her and Jem for the past several
years.

The novel explores themes of racism and prejudice as
a backdrop for the the youthful enthusiasm and adventures of the children, while
creating an enduring character in Atticus Finch, the quintessential model of a Southern
lawyer whose honesty and tolerance for all people is unmatched in American
literature.