The main plot line of Sanctuary is spread over several summer weeks of 1930. Unfolding in thirty one relatively brief chapters (some only four pages long), the story splits into three parts, with the events at Goodwin's house forming roughly the first, and with Jeffer son and Memphis as the alternating settings for the latter two thirds of the book.

The last chapter, which relates Popeye's capture and execution, takes place two months after Goodwin's mistrial and lynching, forming a thematic and chronological coda.

The overall mood and structure of the first part (which ends with Tommy's murder and the rape of Temple) resembles that of the classical tragedy. It is filled with a sense of foreboding which, like implacable destiny, hangs over the desolate house and the two hapless visitors. The actions of both Gowan and Temple seem to be determined by their tragic flows: The former can...