Written in the indirect third person, from Carter's point of view, the novel is set during her years as a student in the early 1970s at the fictional Blackstock College in Minnesota.

The plot combines the story of a young woman's life at college with a retelling of the traditional Scottish fairy ballad "Tam Lin".

[3] Homer's Iliad is quoted and referenced by several characters, in the original ancient Greek and in English translations by George Chapman and Alexander Pope.

In the "Author's Note", Dean states: Readers acquainted with Carleton College will find much that is familiar to them in the architecture, landscape, classes, terminology, and general atmosphere of Blackstock.

[4]In the novel, a key revelation is that two of the Classics majors, Robin and Nick, are in fact the same Robert Armin and Nicholas Tooley who performed with The King's Men during the time when William Shakespeare was writing plays for the troupe.