Recognized for its particular approach to the historical novel, the narrative opens with the elderly narrator John Campbell reminiscing of his family and country's long-standing history over the course of 79 years, as he lies awake on the eve of Jamaica's Constitution Day and his memory refuses to elude him. The narrative quality of "New Day" is evident when the aged narrator transitions from past-tense into present voice as old Campbell struggles to recall the events of the past ("remember I remember").