Phnom Penh, 1975

Phnom Penh is the major Cambodian city that the Revolutionaries aim to empty out. Raami and her family live a luxurious lifestyle in Phnom Penh. The scenes at the beginning of the novel — of food, servants, and flowers — serve as a stark contrast of the hand-to-mouth subsistence of the rest of the novel.

The Buddhist Temple, 1975

The Buddhist Temple grounds where the family is first brought by the Revolutionaries bring both peace and fear. Raami and her father both feel at home surrounded by temples, but the scenes of the monks’ and nuns’ murders by the Khmer Rouge lend a ominous feeling to the peaceful setting about what is to come for the Sisowaths.

Mae and Pok’s House in Stung Khae, sometime between 1975-1977

Mae and Pok’s house, though meager and bare, gives Aana, Raami, and Radana a sense of security and comfort because of...