The Lobster Kings takes place on fictional Loosewood Island, somewhere off Maine and the Maritimes, and a ruggedly pastoral outpost claimed by both the United States and Canada. For generations it has been unofficially ruled by a family called the Kings, since the legendary Brumfitt Kings came over from Ireland with the bountiful lobsters "making a road with their backs." But modern times bring modern problems, and the waters off Loosewood Island are starting to be poached by James Harbor, a rival community. With the health of current patriarch Woody Kings fading, it's up to his daughter Cordelia to pick up the mantle. Her name is no casual reference to King Lear: Zentner has crafted a truly Shakespearean plot filled with sibling rivalry, love lost and won, art history, and the sometimes deadly adventure that is lobster fishing off the windswept Atlantic coast.