It is bounded on three sides by water: to the north by Pont Creek, to the west by the River Fowey and to the south by the English Channel and neighbours village Bodinnick to the north, connected by a 4 mile walk along the hill tops.
Daphne du Maurier began work on the book in October 1929 at Ferryside, the du Mauriers' holiday home in Bodinnick, Cornwall.