The story begins with a scene from a game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. Lewis focuses on the fearsome strength of linebacker Lawrence Taylor who consistently brings down quarterbacks. In this particular scene, he comes down hard on Joe Theismann, breaking his leg and effectively ending his football career. Taylor springs up and leaps away from the scene, seeming to feel, as Lewis describes it, sympathetic pain to the injury he just caused. The next chapter describes the work of Tom Lemming, opening with him watching a tape of Michael Oher and being stunned. He goes out to meet him, feeling slightly mystified about the fact that no one seems to know who he is in his hometown. Lewis writes about Lemming's process, as he rose to prominence as one of the premier football recruiting analysts. Lemming traveled constantly to see every top-tier high school football player in the U.S. He compiled this information and began making a profit by creating a valuable list of these prospective college athletes. He meets Michael and is baffled by him, as he refuses to speak much or answer his questionnaire.
The third chapter begins with the story of Big Tony, a man in the impoverished neighborhood known as Hurt Village in East Memphis. To keep a promise he made to his dying mother, he enrolls his son, Steven, in an evangelical Christian school called Briarcrest. At the same time, he asks about the possibility of enrolling Michael, who has been sleeping on their couch, as well. The school is concerned about Michael's academic performance, but agrees to give him a chance. The school's football coach, Hugh Freeze, takes an interest in Michael for his athletic ability. Michael struggles in school, initially seeming unable to work through material but eventually showing some aptitude, just suffering from being behind. Slightly later, Sean Tuohy, a local businessman, sees Michael sitting in the stands at a basketball game and, being somewhat familiar with him, offers to cover his school lunch. Shortly after this first meeting, Sean, now with his wife Leigh Ann, encounters Michael again, en route to the school gym, trying to keep warm. The following day, Leigh Anne takes him shopping for clothes.
The fourth chapter depicts Michael's initial involvement with Briarcrest's sports teams. He shows impressive strength as a shotput thrower, while also being a decent basketball player. Around the same time, Michael becomes increasingly close to Leigh Anne, turning to her when he sustains a hand injury during a basketball game. As Michael's housing situation appears increasingly dire, Leigh Anne takes him in. She begins to learn more about him and his past, taking notice of his various habits that seem like survival tools, like saving extra meals. Michael attends a football match and easily lifts one of the strongest players, astounding the coaches. He is quickly recruited as the team's left tackle. The fifth chapter deals with the contrasting coaching styles of NFL coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh, as a means of explaining the rise in status of the left tackle position. It opens with a game between the Raiders and Bengals, coached by Walsh, in which the Bengals lose due to a blind-side rush. From there, Walsh begins to reconsider his approach to the game, shifting the focus of his plays to short passes, a style he would become known for. Lewis says Parcells' style was more about brute force, while Walsh's was centered around clever plays. Up against Parcells' Giants, and feared linebacker Lawrence Taylor, Walsh employs this new strategy, this time as coach of the 49ers. Using left tackle John Ayers, Walsh is able to protect quarterback Joe Montana from Taylor's forceful tackle. Lewis also describes how Ayers' job is both essential and fairly invisible to a viewing audience.
The sixth chapter shows Michael's slow adjustment to all of the new attention as a major player on Briarcrest's team. Michael learns the team's plays, while Leigh Anne closely watches each of his games. In one particular game, a player keeps calling Michael names. Michael picks him up and carries him off the field, past the bench, and into the fence. Gradually, Leigh Anne notices Michael opening up more and more, as he begins the process of getting a driver's license. During the process, she learns more about his complicated family background, including his large number of half-brothers and sisters. Later, she has a conflict with Coach Freeze about not properly utilizing Michael's talents on the field. Freeze ultimately changes his plays, relying on Michael to clear the way for the quarterback to score. The team wins the season.
The seventh chapter deals with Michael's many college offers and interaction with various coaches. He receives particularly strong interest from the University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, and the University of Tennessee. Leigh Anne's son, Sean Jr., also takes a strong interest in the matter, asking each coach very specific questions about how involved he can be in Michael's sporting life. Ultimately, he chooses the University of Mississippi because he likes its coach. The eighth chapter depicts an investigation carried out by the NCAA that sought to find out if the Tuohys adopted Michael in an effort to coerce him into playing for the University of Mississippi, their alma mater. At the same time, it also details Michael's effort to raise his GPA before leaving for college, which involves him working relentlessly on academics with his tutor and taking some online classes. The investigation concludes, finding no evidence of wrongdoing on the Tuohys' part. Michael finishes school and begins preparing for his role on his college team.
The ninth chapter describes the rise in the stature and pay of the NFL players who served as left tackles. Concurrently, it depicts the pressure put on left tackle Steve Wallace. Wallace was told the fate of his team, The San Francisco 49ers, largely rested on him that season in 1982. It was expected he would be able to stop Chris Doleman, a renowned linebacker who played for the Vikings. Wallace proves adept at keeping Doleman at bay in a pivotal game. Following this tactical development, demand for left tackles increases significantly, as does their pay. Lewis also describes the career of Jonathan Ogden, a talented left tackle who was such a capable player that he seemed nearly able to fill multiple roles on the team. Chapter ten depicts the complex racial politics at the University of Mississippi, particularly in relation to its treatment of Black athletes. Lewis details how Black football players were often isolated from the largely white social sphere of the school. He then returns to Michael's story, describing his first season at the school as the team suffers some setbacks, leading up to a climactic loss in Starkville. Michael's status in the school remains strong until there is an incident with another player. One of his teammates, Antonio, says something about Leigh Anne and her daughter Collins, causing Michael to beat him. Michael inadvertently injures a young child who is present at the scene and flees.
In the eleventh chapter, Lewis pivots and describes the details of Michael's early life. His mother gives birth to him and his siblings when she is very young. She develops a crippling drug addiction and is rarely around. Michael and his siblings grow increasingly concerned that their family will be broken up, which eventually happens. Michael runs away from a group home multiple times, returning to Hurt Village, the apartment complex where his mother resides. Social Services eventually stops looking for him and he spends his days playing basketball and seeking out both food and shelter. The book then details Michael's early days at Briarcrest, illustrating his fear and wonder about a predominantly white world that remains largely alien to him. The chapter ends with Big Tony warning Michael to be careful of the rules of this other world.
The final chapter depicts Sean getting in touch with Michael and helping him sort out the incident with Antonio. Michael doesn't get any legal or academic penalties, but is reminded to be more mindful in situations like that one. Michael goes on to have a successful season, inspiring hope in many athletes from impoverished neighborhoods hoping to use their talent to push back on generational poverty. At the same time, Leigh Anne seeks to find a way to help other kids who grew up in circumstances like Michael's. The book ends with a description of linebacker Dwight Freeney seeming nervous about facing Michael's prowess and power on the field someday.
