In this paper we study flows ϕ : M × R −→ M having an isolated non-saddle set. We see that the complexity of the region of influence of an isolated non-saddle set K depends on the way in which K sits on the phase space at the cohomological level. We construct flows in surfaces having isolated non-saddle sets with a prescribed structure for its region of influence. We also study parametrized families of smooth flows and continuations of non-saddle sets.