[2] The series is set in a vastly depopulated far-future Earth where numerous hunter-gatherer cultures, some human and some not, surround densely overpopulated domed city-states of recognizably modern urbanites functioning at a high technological level.

Our own civilization and its considerably more advanced successors are lost to prehistory save for a few twentieth-century pop cultural artifacts conveniently recovered by well-paid psychics.

These include, but are not limited to, several aboriginal human cultures, an all-but-matriarchal civilization of lion-women, enigmatic raptor lizards with organs adapted specifically to brain surgery and genetic engineering, and cow-horned farmer-pirates harvesting enemy crops in giant militarized combines, and they are all constantly in low-grade conflict with each other for scarce resources.

The main character is "Jaeger" Ayers, who is half-redneck and half "Ascian" (McNeil's stand-in culture for real-world Native Americans).

Jaeger has featured in all storylines thus far, whether as protagonist or in cameos and flashbacks, although McNeil has stated the intention to continue the series without him at some future date, when his story is completed.

Vary L. S. (Lakya Sagarananda) Krishna, who is the main character of only one story collection thus far, has come to the big city from a Hautami (Indian (Asian)) community.

Of the three children, the eldest child Rachel's attempt to gain admittance to her mother's clan (and to perhaps do something by herself for once in her life) appeared on McNeil's website for collection in 2008 as Finder volume 9; youngest child Marcie's quest to find a certain lost book if only by writing it is the subject of volume #4; while the story of middle-child Lynne has yet to be written but may complete a hypothetical "three sisters" hardcover McNeil has speculated about releasing.

The series makes allusions to various genres of science fiction and fantasy; apparent influences include Ursula K. Le Guin, Samuel R. Delany, and cyberpunk for thematic content, and a wide range of work for the visual aspects, from old horror comics and simple line cartoons to the science fiction work of Mœbius.