It was set in Amber Valley, Alberta, an historic settlement of African-American homesteaders from the United States in the early 20th century.

He persuades his wife Maud and twin daughters Yvette and Chloe to move to the town, which was a settlement of African- American immigrant homesteaders from Oklahoma and the Deep South in the early 20th century.

Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "unrelenting" in its portrayal of life as "somber and bleak", with a "suitably ominous atmosphere" and a conclusion that is "astonishingly moving".

[1] Bronwyn Drainie, editor-in-chief of the Literary Review of Canada, characterized Edugyan's portrayal of rural Alberta as "vicious and hilarious and pitch-perfect", but said that the mental illness of Tyne's daughters was "not a very compelling fictional device".

[2] Similarly, Malcolm Azania said that, although Edugyan's writing showed "a poet’s attention to wordcraft" and "extremely refined skills", both the novel and its characters were "frustrating".