Hapsburg is a fictional town located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is the seat of Quidnunc County, named for the tribe of Native Americans who lived nearby. A mystery novel and about twenty-five stories are set in and around Hapsburg, past and present.

Joseph Happ founded the town in 1750. Raphael Poindexter revamped the mills on Quicquid Creek as the Hapsburg Iron Works in 1866. Albert Watkins built the grand Hotel Shenandoah in 1898. Change ceased in 1950, and the picturesque town is wonderfully preserved.

Recurring characters include Ella Eulalia Finch, historian and Garden Club member; Theodore Percy, rector of St. Giles Episcopal Church; Lionel Small, black entrepreneur and owner of the Catharsis Café; Louisa Abernethy Jones, reporter for the weekly Vindicator; Wesley Grubb, warehouse employee and singer-songwriter; and Blair Wolfram, decorator and new mother.