For instance, there are chapters that take place in the West Indies in the late 18th century (following the ancestors of the characters Achille and Plunkett).

These passages describe the Battle of the Saintes which took place off the coast of St. Lucia in 1782 and ended with the British fleet, under the command of Admiral George Rodney (who appears in the poem), defeating the French.

For another example, in Books 4 and 5 of the poem, Walcott also writes about and in the voice of the 19th-century activist Caroline Weldon who worked on behalf of the rights of the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe in the Dakotas.

The second thread is the interwoven story of Major Plunkett and his wife Maud, who live on the island and must reconcile themselves to the history of British colonization of St. Lucia.

Walcott, by using myth and history, advocates the need to return to traditions in order to challenge the modernity born out of colonialism.

[5] Lance Callahan notes that "despite the fact that most lines are composed of twelve syllables, so wildly varied is the metrical construction of the poem that at times it gives the appearance of being in free verse".

Starring Saint Lucian actor Joseph Marcell and Jade Anouka, it was presented in May and June 2014,[11] and was reprised in October 2015.