"Louis" takes place before the Civil War in an area south of the Mississippi River and the free state of Ohio. The locations of the action are typical of the era the story takes place in—beginning with the slave quarters, a dash through woodlands, and a desperate paddling against the powerful current of the Mississippi. The other settings focus on the people who helped escaped slaves: a farm owned by escaped slaves, a house with a hidden room in which runaway slaves hid while slave owners and the law searched for them, and even a couple of grocery stores, where Louis quickly learns a trade. Each setting is remarkable for the vivid and spare descriptions that give a palpable sense of authenticity.