Most of Lowell's novels so far are set in a science fiction universe he calls the "Golden Age of the Solar Clipper". The "... Share" novels follow the adventures of Ishmael Wang, a young man who becomes orphaned at the start of Quarter Share and signs up to work on a merchant ship, the Lois McKendrick. The books' titles refer to how much share of the ship's profits a crewman receives at different job levels. South Coast is a spin-off but stand-alone novel sub-titled "A Shaman’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper", set in the same universe but focused on St Cloud, a single fishing planet and the coming of age of Otto Krugg, the only son of Richard Krugg and heir to the Shaman’s Gift.