What is the main setting in the novel, The Other Americans?

The Mojave Desert in Southern California consists of a series of small towns in the area near Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. Despite the sparse landscape and brutal temperatures, the Mojave Desert becomes a significant melting pot of different people from different cultures. While it will eventually feel like home for the main character of the novel, Nora Guerraoi, the same towns will feel emotionally isolating for people of other minorities, including Detective Coleman and Efraín. With the exception of Nora's brief return to Oakland, and then to the music festival, all of the present-day scenes (i.e., excluding flashbacks) in the novel take place in the Mojave Desert.