Suleiman el-Dewani
The protagonist, and the son of a democracy favoring man who is persecuted by the Qaddafi regime. Suleiman is only 9 years old when the government begins harassing his father.
Faraj
Suleiman's father, a beloved man by his family. Faraj knows that he will likely become the subject of persecution for his political views, and after being physically tortured by the government, he sends his son to Egypt.
Najwa
Faraj's young wife, and Suleiman's mother. Najwa is 23 or 24 years old at the time of Qaddafi's uprising. She was no more than a child herself, and in the constant paranoia and distress, she finds herself becoming addicted to the relief that alcohol brings her.
Kareem Rasheed
Suleiman's best friend. Like Suleiman himself, Kareem's father was the subject of extreme mistreatment, except that his trial ended not in torture, but in death. Kareem's father is hung publicly in the opening sequences of the novel.
Moosa
An ethnic Tripoli man from Libya who is forced to flee his homelands to make a life for himself in Cairo. When Suleiman's parents send him away, they send him to Moosa, the family friend.
