Al Tafar, Iraq

Most of the important action takes place in Al Tafar, Iraq. It's a desert, hot and dusty, surrounded by an apple orchard and other trees. The Tigris River flows through it.

Private John Bartle, the book's narrator, is in the United States Army fighting in the Iraq War and he's stationed in Al Tafar with his platoon, which includes his friend Daniel Murphy; their sergeant, Sterling; and their lieutenant. They call the Iraqis who live there hajji. Throughout the chapters set in Al Tafar, the soldiers move around the city and its outskirts. Besides the permanent structures in which the hajjis live and work, there are the platoon's outpost and a medical station.

Fort Dix, New Jersey

Fort Dix is an Army training base. It's winter and there's snow and rain and mud all around.

Kaiserlautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

On their way back home after the war...