Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada provides the setting for much of the novel’s narrative. After divorcing Robert, Suzy goes to Las Vegas to live with Sonny. Sonny operates many criminal businesses in Las Vegas, and he launders the money through various legitimate businesses that he owns, such as restaurants. After Suzy disappears, Robert goes to Las Vegas to attempt to track her down. Symbolically, Las Vegas represents moral and cultural desolation, as Las Vegas has no deep cultural roots of its own, and it is the setting for so much crime in the novel.

Vietnam

Vietnam is the birth country of many of the novel’s characters. Many of the characters, including Suzy, Mai, Sonny, and Jonathan, immigrated to the United States from Vietnam to escape the inhumane communist dictators who had risen to power there. In many ways, this cultural heritage defines and binds these characters together...