Where It All Goes Down
Small Town, Australia
Surrender takes place in a small town in rural Australia. To hear Gabriel describe it, Mulyan is nothing special; Finnigan even tells us that no one chooses to come to the town. Like every small town, everyone knows everyone else's business, and gossip and secrets run rampant. Perhaps that's one of the reasons the arsonist is so troubling to all the townsfolk: They are concerned it could be one of their neighbors, and they're no longer sure whom to trust. As for Gabriel, the town is where he was born and has been raised. He says of the town:
There is nothing about its weft and fold that isn't familiar to me. (1.6)
This super familiar setting allows Gabriel to come and go as he pleases—in secrecy, even—since he knows the town like the back of his hand. That he can know the setting inside and out is key to his ability to maintain his duality for so long. It's also key to his ability to torment the town; it is small enough to be ravaged by one unhinged kid, whereas a larger setting might not be.
On the flipside, though, the small town setting keeps the stakes high. Gabriel and Finnigan are imminently catch-able in this setting, unable to slink into the anonymity of a city. Bones found in the middle of New York might not lead very quickly back to Gabriel, but in this tiny town, once they're found, Gabriel doesn't have long before fingers start pointing in his direction.