Wringer is set in Waymer, a small community of quiet neighborhoods, neat houses, and friendly people. The time is contemporary. Waymer's community spirit is exhibited in the residents' concern for a good park for their children. Each summer a Family Fest raises money to maintain ball fields and playground equipment and purchase new equipment. Spinelli develops a strong contrast to the peaceful park setting with the annual pigeon shoot. Participants pay entry fees. Soccer fields become battlefields with the explosion of guns aimed at defenseless pigeons. The sky is turned gray from the gunfire—"smokesun" as Palmer calls it—the air is filled with the acrid odor of gunpowder, and the field is littered with feathers.