[1] Instead, Burwell's novel acts as an allegory for the history of slavery in the United States, in a manner similar to George Orwell's Animal Farm, which acts as an allegory for the history of the Soviet Union.
The story follows the history of the United States from its time as a British province to the beginning of tensions between North and South in the 1850s.
It is presented as though the story were being recounted by a retired barrister from Lincolnshire in England to a reporter from the United States.
[2] The story takes place in the county of Shropshire in England, where capitalist Mr. Bull is undergoing a difficult transaction with a large quantity of land his firm has since acquired from various lucrative business deals.
When Don Armado is placated, Mr. Bull takes his business elsewhere, and the land prospers.