The novel is set during the Mexican Revolution, which took place from 1910-1920. Throughout her novel, Dobbs provides historical context for readers to inform the events of the novel and the impacts those events have on its characters. The Preface of the novel is set at the beginning of the war, in 1910, while the remaining chapters are set three years into the Revolution, in 1913.

The Revolution began in the wake of nationwide dissatisfaction with the policies of President Porfirio Díaz, which prioritized the wealthy at the expense of the poor. When Díaz announced his plan to run for reelection in 1910, he was met with opposition from Francisco Madero, a liberal from a well-to-do family and leader of a group of revolutionaries that opposed Díaz’s reelection. Early in the novel, after Petra and her family have fled their village, she recalls hearing about Madero from her father before he was forced by the Federales to enlist in the Mexican army on Díaz’s orders. Papá told her that despite having been born into wealth, Madero’s heart “had always been with the poor” (42). In an effort to support those in poverty, Madero had “opened schools for peasant children” and “paid all his workers well” (42).