The main setting of the novel is the trailer where Patty, Jamie, and Nin are living after they leave Van. "Jamie's first sight of the trailer, from a distance, made him think of a big silver toaster." It is very small, in fact, there is no crib for Nin, and she is put in a drawer to sleep. To Jamie and Patty, at first, it seems to be a perfect place to hide.

But gradually, without them realizing it, the trailer becomes a prison. "For the rest of the weekend after the fair, after they saw the man who wasn't even Van, Jamie and Patty and Nin didn't go anywhere at all."

Jamie starts to pretend that they are the last people left on earth, and this, to him, seems a good thing. He does not want to face the world outside. When Monday comes around, he refuses...