Mark Miller
An American diplomat of Jewish descent who is assigned as a State Department officer in Kabul, Afghanistan. His assignment entails tracing a young American woman who has disappeared following her marriage several months prior.
Ellen Jasper
The young woman from the United States of whom the main protagonist is tasked to find following her disappearance. She got married to an Afghan national thirteen months before her choice to run away seeking freedom and self-gratification. She is a free-spirited and brave woman who has been disillusioned by the pursuits of power in societies especially imperialism.
Nazrullah
Ellen Jasper’s husband, an American-educated Afghan engineer who is also in the quest of locating her. He is one of the young men in the country who challenge the old norms and seek to modernize the nation.
Dr. Otto Stiglitz
A German doctor and Nazi war criminal who has taken asylum in Afghanistan. He is Miller’s travel companion through his journey and shares his story with the protagonist unbeknownst to him that he is a Jew. Thus, Miller constantly oscillates between taking revenge on him for the Nazi atrocities and forgiving him. He also ends up falling in love with Ellen.
