Buckley's earlier adventure-espionage novels traced Blackford Oakes' exploits during the 1950s and early 1960s. Mongoose R.I.P. picks up the saga of Blackford Oakes in 1963. The Cuban missile crisis is over; President Kennedy is still alive. Neither heroes nor villains have changed from those of previous books. The change in some of the female characters shows evidence of the rise of the feminist movement.

Several have attended prestigious graduate schools such as Yale or The Wharton School. There is also a new awareness of historical fact, as Buckley documents the CIA's role in attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro.