Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is the largest city in Uruguay, and also the lifelong home of all of the main characters in the novel. Although many of the most emotionally significant moments for the characters take place in Cabo Polonio, the characters spend at most a few weeks out of the year in Cabo Polonio, spending most of their time in their homes in the big city. Under the dictatorship, the city is a dangerous and oppressive place to be, with the women establishing connections with other lesbians as furtively as possible. After the dictatorship, however, the city becomes an open and accepting place, with Paz running a gay-friendly bar in the basement of her home, and gay marriage also becoming legalized.

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

Cabo Polonio is the name of the mall beach town that the women first escape to for an emotional retreat in the opening scene of...