Xan Meo
An actor and writer, and a gangster's son. While talking about a man named Joseph Andrews, Xan is jumped and injured quite badly. This novel explains how Xan's life is affected by brain damage from the incident. He is also discovered to be related to Joseph Andrews in an unexpected way—Andrews is his biological father.
Joseph Andrews
This kingpin is a rival gangster of Mick Meo's, Xan's father. But in the fullness of time, we learn that actually, Andrews is Xan Meo's real father. He is a brutal gangster just like Mick, and his gang enforces a brutal reign of terror. Andrews is murdered.
Cora
A woman plotting to separate Xan from his wife. That should be fairly easy, though, since Xan's brutal assault came with the cost of brain damage, and he hasn't really been connecting well with his wife very well. Unfortunately for Cora, her plans also fail for the same reasons, but not before Cora gets a good close look at the truth of Xan's situation.
Clint Smoker
A senior reporter for the paper who learns from Cora what happened to Xan. Usually, he is a professional first, but he simply cannot help but rage when he hears about Xan's mistreatment. He is driven to violence and he murders Joseph Andrews.
