Most of the novels take place in existing countries and include authentic details; however, characters in the stories sometimes originate from fictional places that resemble groups of real-life countries. An example of this trait is evidenced by a character in "A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax" who is from Zabya, a fictional Middle Eastern monarchy described as one of "those Arabian oil-producing countries." In addition, as is common in the spy fiction genre, many of the stories taking place in the Cold War era are set in Iron Curtain countries or include rival spies from communist countries.