The story unfolds primarily within the Jarrett family's home, a spacious and elegant house reflecting their comfortable financial status. The book also takes us to various locations within the town, such as the high school Conrad attends, the psychiatrist's office, and a local lake.
The time period is the late 1970s, immediately after the death of the Jarrett's older son, Buck. The story deals with the family's attempts to cope with this loss and its impact on their lives in the context of a seemingly idyllic but ultimately emotionally fraught upper-class setting.