The entire story takes place in a fantastical version of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Carter describes the city as prosperous during the spring, and she describes the townsfolk as always appearing unhappy, but living in nature and beauty. It could be argued that most of the story takes place in present day, but the end of the story takes place in ancient Samarkand, when the narrator recounts an anecdote about Tamburlaine’s wife.