The novel is told against the background of the history of the Dominican Republic, notably the Trujillo regime from 1930 to 1961. The Trujillo regime was a time of economic development and intense repression, encompassing persecution of political oppositions and ethnic groups. His 1961 assassination led to political instability and speeding up of Dominican immigration into America, which determined the lives of Dominican-Americans like Oscar and his family. It summons out the durable heritage of such a dictatorship and reveals how colonial repression and political violence continue to shape individual and collective identity.