Minneapolis, Minnesota

The novel takes place in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. This is where Cedar and her birth parents, the Songmakers live, with the Potts' family living on a nearby reservation. At the beginning of the novel, Cedar remarks on the relative normalcy of suburban life continuing on despite the apocalypse, "the usual number of normal, purposed, smiling, and gregarious Minnesotans, people talking at the bus stops. People carrying their shopping bags and backpacks, walking at an appropriate rate of speed" (8). Things take a turn for the surreal when Cedar is holed up in her house, unable to leave. Her house overlooks a wooded, swampy area and she observes strange wildlife, including what appears to be a saber-toothed tiger and some sort of bird/lizard hybrid. Just before Cedar is taken away to Fairview Riverside Hospital, her neighborhood is taken over by a shadowy religious organization that renames...