 The book ends when fate decides to take Annie Lockwood away from 1895 and Strat, back to what is possibly her own time as the book does not confirm where exactly she has been taken to.Both Sides of Time takes place in Stratton Point in 1895 which was inspired by a beach named Tod's Point, according to Caroline B. Cooney, who stated that as a child she used to live some miles away from this beach.This area had Cooney initially choose to have Mr. Tod as a villain, but further research on him changed her mind when she discovered his characteristics that opposed that of a typical villain.