Stephen Lewis
Stephen is the main protagonist of the novel. He is a father that is trying to get through the guilt and sorrow of losing his child.
Charles Darke
Charles is Stephen's friend who helped him publish his first book. He gets involved in politics, but decides to leave it all behind in pursuit of a child-like life.
Thelma Darke
Thelma is Charles's wife and a retired professor of physics. She goes along with her husband's ideas of living like a child, but it doesn't leave her unscathed.
Julie
Julie is Stephen's wife who can't cope with the loss of her daughter and her husband's futile attempts of finding her. She decides to leave him and isolate herself to pursue writing.
Kate
Kate is physically present in the novel only briefly, before going missing, but the effect of her loss and her "ghost" is present all the time until the end.
