The novel explores multiple human connections: between lovers from different lands; between Americans via language, law and culture; between Vietnamese immigrants in a small Illinois town via language and culture. For both groups, Butler illustrates connections between people and land.

Quentin and June Forbes, the American couple that wishes to befriend Cliff and Lanh, are well versed in archaeology and Native American civilizations. They own several ancient Indian artifacts which they have found at sites they have explored. In attempting to involve Lanh in conversation at the Forbes's home, Cliff prompts her to explain that, for centuries, Vietnamese farmers have been buried in the fields they have tilled all their lives. So, in both countries, aspects of the terrain link the present with the past.

The love relationship is closely tied to sexual passion. In bursts of insecurity, Lanh derides herself as having undesirable physical attributes when compared to big-busted American blondes, and accuses Cliff of resenting her past as a prostitute. Cliff denies that his uncertainties grow from jealousy about her past, contending that she refuses to deal effectively with the need to adapt to the present and the future — she is afraid of the States, and reluctant to try to learn more of the language. Given contacts with Binh, another Vietnamese refugee, and his family, Lanh finds far more stress in staying with Cliff than with Binh's family. Hence the novel works variations on the theme of alienation.