Jamaica

The tropical island of Jamaica is one of the book's primary settings. Much of the action takes place here, in an atmosphere of oppressive heat that manifests both climatically and emotionally—that is, the heat of social and political unrest. In other words, it provides both a physical and psychological context for the book's plot and themes.

America

America is the second of the book's primary settings, a symbol of hope for many of the characters but for at least two (Clare and her mother Kitty), a manifestation of racial oppression that they struggle their entire lives to escape.

England

The third of the book's primary settings, England is the country to which Clare flees in the hope of escaping the racism she finds in America, the corrosive control of her father, the desperation in her home country of Jamaica, and the sense of emptiness she...