[1] It is Womersley's third novel and it takes its name from the location where the protagonist lives, in the heritage listed Cairo Flats apartment block that is located in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.

[2][3] The novel also features a number of actual places and venues around Fitzroy, and on Brunswick Street, from the Punters Club, The Black Cat Cafe, Polyester Records and Rhumbarellas.

[4][5] The novel is presented as a reminiscence of "Tom Button", a boy from rural Victoria who inherits an apartment in Cairo from a bohemian aunt of his.

[2]  Through Max and Sally, Tom is introduced to a wider circle of bohemian artists and musicians, which draws him into more sinister events.

The centrepiece of the story is inspired by the real theft of The Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria in 1986.