December Girl is set in the Boyne Valley, Ireland, at a small, picturesque, grassy stone age tomb called Dowth. The tomb was built around 2000 BC and shares a solar alignment with nearby Newgrange.
Every year on the winter solstice, the sun at dawn streams into the tomb at Newgrange. In recent years it was discovered that the evening sun also reaches into and lights up the tomb at Dowth. This is touched upon in December Girl and the main character, Molly Thomas, who is born on the winter solstice, comes to realise she has an inner strength and spiritual connection to her homeland.
While Newgrange has a dedicated tourism centre and is protected, Dowth burial chamber has been left practically untouched and is accessible, in a small field by a stile.