Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape and sexual assault.

Pavone alludes to Lisbon’s setting as a port city with a rich history. Ariel is interested in the earthquake and tsunami that transformed it, a metaphor for her hops that the kidnapping plot will have transformative effects. The Portuguese detectives are shaped by history in their reactions to Ariel. One of them reminds her that “this was once the center of the espionage world […] during the Second World War” (78). The Iberian peninsula took on salience during the war due to the fall of France in 1940. Neutral Portugal became a prominent location for espionage and intelligence gathering on both sides of the conflict. Notable real-life intelligence agents in Lisbon included Kim Philby, Graham Greene, and Ian Fleming. The latter two became famous for leveraging their espionage experience into literary careers, especially Fleming’s creation of James Bond. The Bond novel Casino Royale was inspired by Fleming’s visits to Portugal’s Estoril Casino. The characters Ariel and John are part of a tradition of using the city as a backdrop to achieve greater goals—theirs is a war designed to expose corruption and violence against women.