I love this article by Brian Klems at Writers’ Digest.  The temptation to expose the entire skeleton of your novel, in the opening chapter is a strong one … I know!  I wonder if the reader will ‘get’ what my novel and its leading players are about … I need to explain it all, right?  Wrong!  I realise now that I am taking my readers on a journey, and along the way they will discover why the protagonists act as they do, why the antagonist is mean … I don’t need to explain it all in the opening scene.  To do so curtails the journey and leaves little of interest to discover en route.

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-to-weave-backstory-seamlessly-into-your-novel?et_mid=621870&rid=234323519