The novel is set in Vicksburg, Mississippi, an important town in the antebellum South (the South before the Civil War).

Home to plantation families who depend on cotton and slaves to make a profitable and comfortable living, Vicksburg is a strategic trading port because of its location on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Memphis. Located on high bluffs overlooking the river, Vicksburg is the key to controlling riverboat traffic. Because of the economic and strategic location of the town, the Union army needs to conquer Vicksburg in order to divide the South. The siege of this river port is a crucial battle in the Civil War, and the loss of Vicksburg foreshadows the fall of the South. Thus, Vicksburg is the perfect backdrop for telling the story of a girl torn between her Southern friends and her love of a Union soldier.