Cambridge, Early Twenty-First Century

DODO develops and expands from its headquarters in twenty-first century Cambridge. Many of its founding members are related to Harvard University one way or another—among others Mel, the Odas, Mortimer, Julie—allowing them to find each other easily. Cambridge becomes the hub of all of the time travel, and the central thread of the plot takes place in twenty-first century Cambridge throughout the novel.

London, July 1851

Mel narrates most of the novel from her temporal position in 1851 London. It is the site of her first meeting with Erszebet and thus ensures DODO’s future. 1851 is also the year magic ends due to advances in science and exploration such as the Great Exposition in London and the photographing of an eclipse. This instability in reality makes the year both vitally important and a risky setting for time travellers, as Mel well knows.

Massachusetts Bay Colony, August 1640