- Inspector Kingsley - A vaguely arrogant, but nevertheless kind and morally upstanding, intellectual, whose intricate sense of logic is frequently given superiority over self-preservation, a trait which proves his undoing. His brother Robert was killed in battle and he must now face the prospect of losing his wife, Agnes, and young son George. Despite his objection to the war, he is also a talented soldier, as proven when he wades into the middle of no man's land during a fray in order to obtain information.
- Captain Shannon - An unbalanced, sadistic psychopath whose warped mentality has clearly been exacerbated by his experiences of war. He is deeply misogynistic, but has no trouble attracting women because of his handsome face and surface charm. Kingsley narrowly prevents him from raping a teenage girl, and throughout the story Shannon displays a cold disregard for women, civilians, conscientious objectors and victims of shell shock.
- Nurse Murray - A staunch feminist and former suffragette, who abandoned her cause following the outbreak of war so she could lend her support to the military. She has a brief but passionate affair with Kingsley, who is both enamoured of and horrified by her unashamed vulgarity.
- Agnes Kingsley
- Viscount Abercrombie - The character of the Viscount Abercrombie may be based, at least in part, upon Siegfried Sassoon, a British soldier and poet who became disillusioned with the War and became an outspoken anti-war activist.
- Stamford
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