In 2006, having completed fourteen years of research, David and Penelope Carroll relocated their family to the volcanic highlands of southern Mexico to compose this work. Upon completion they returned to the United States, setting up their home on the Outer Banks, where they edited and refined this massive novel, ultimately determining to split it into three parts. They reside in Nags Head, North Carolina, with their two daughters, Abigail and Eleanor, and are busy working on their next project, also based on the magical and troubled waters of the Carolina coast.