The events of "All Cats Are Gray" take place in a future when human beings have mastered interplanetary travel. The society seems to be a complex one, although the action focuses primarily on freighter captains and their lives, which are devoted to making enough money to stay ahead of their creditors. Steena does not speak much, so there is no telling whether she suffers the same financial embarrassments as her peers, but her steady, almost stoic demeanor is well suited to a life among asteroids and taverns, with little company besides her cat.