Except for two brief excursions to Buenos Aires, the setting is the expanse of the gently rolling Argentine pampas during the mid-nineteenth century. The influence of this exotic setting is vital to the author's development. Hudson provides ample description to give the reader a sense of place. He describes the terrain, buildings, seasonal changes, climate, and storms.

As far as the eye can see, the land appears flat, heavily overgrown with thistles and native grasses, too dry for crops but suitable for horses, cattle, sheep, and goats. Trees can be discerned along widely dispersed water ways and near human dwellings; the nearest to Hudson's home is more than a mile away. For Hudson and his five siblings there is no school and no church. The nearest village is eight miles away, and contact with people outside the family occurs infrequently. The families of the remote ranches occasionally visit...