A strong and consistent theme exploring complex mother–child relationships runs through the novel. Alice, for all her anger, toughness, and streetwise demeanor, is rocked to her core when Ella is taken; once Harold shows Alice in no uncertain terms that he wants nothing to do with Ella’s rescue, Alice knows she must be the one responsible for finding her. Ella is so important to Alice that she seeks Finch’s help (an act that, in another situation, would have chafed her pride) and pointedly ignores Ella’s own instruction via Audrey to avoid the Hinterland. Rescuing Ella quickly becomes Alice’s driving force and objective in the story. Even when Finch and later Althea state that the Hinterland is really after her, Alice feels the Hinterland’s objective doesn’t really matter; it does not change the fact that Ella must be saved. Foreshadowing this strong feeling in Alice is the scene in which she yells at Harold for treating Ella badly.

Ella raises Alice in a nomad-like existence that contributes to Alice’s resourcefulness and sense of independence. When it comes to Ella, though, Alice is sometimes as dependent as a child. She likes when Ella sleeps in her bed to comfort her and needs Ella’s soothing words when she ultimately returns to New York.