According to Wagamese, in the beginning, he intended to write a novel about hockey: he had played amateur hockey himself and still loved the game, but gradually the legacy of the residential school system became a focal point of the story.
据作者说，一开始，他打算写一部关于曲棍球的小说：他自己玩过业余曲棍球并喜欢这个游戏，但他逐渐把印第安人住宿学校系统的历史作为故事焦点。