Like previous books by Dorothy Koomson, this one is also set in Brighton and Hove. Brighton and Hove is a city in East Sussex, in South East England. At the 2011 census, it was England’s most populous seaside resort, with a population of 273,400.
Smitty and her adopted parents have lived in Otley most of their lives. Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire.
The only clue that Smitty has about her birth mother is the baby box decorated with butterflies which she slept in as a baby. Finland’s expectant mothers are given a box by the state. It’s like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it’s designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they’re from, an equal start in life. With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.
