Three Rivers, Connecticut

This is the book's primary setting, with much of its action (in both past and present) being set here. It is a small, somewhat conservative town in the American state of Connecticut, in the north-east section of the country commonly known as New England.

New York City

This city is another key setting in the narrative, with present-day scenes involving secondary protagonist Annie Oh taking place there. Its sense of being a center of cultural and economic activity, in America and in the world as a whole, adds an important layer of implied context to the scenes taking place there, with its sophistication and urbanity providing a vivid and telling contrast to the scenes taking place in Three Rivers.

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, on the north-east coast of America bordering the Atlantic Ocean, is the setting for several important scenes in the book, including its final...