The novel's development of setting is unquestionably one of its strongest elements. The novel opens on the water off New Iberia, Louisiana, and is subsequently generally contained within a few score miles of that area. The narration is confined nearly entirely to Dave Robicheaux, the protagonist and narrator, and he moves through Lafayette Parish, New Orleans, and some surrounding areas with the casual familiarity of someone who was born and bred to the area. The narrator has a strong attraction to the natural world and spends much time outside, never missing an opportunity to closely examine some natural object or take in the natural splendor of the bayou. Indeed, much of the novel is given over to lengthy descriptions of the region, descriptions that border upon the poetic.