Marshall effectively uses a number of techniques to convincingly portray the daily life and heritage of the mountain community of Eastern Tennessee.

Throughout the novel, she authentically reproduces the speech patterns and the idiomatic expressions of the mountaineers. She also includes examples of their cultural heritage such as selections from their folk ballads and tall tales. Many of the customs of mountain society are described, those pertaining to daily life as well as the traditions of mountain weddings and funerals that are unique expressions of the heritage of the people. Several stories from the family histories of the characters such as Neil MacNeil are included to explain the reason behind the original emigration of the ancestors of the mountaineers and their motivation for choosing the mountains of Eastern Tennessee for settlement.

The culture heritage of Alice Henderson, Quaker missionary, is revealed to the reader in a similar manner...