He is the narrator of the novel who has returned from war with horrific injuries and a need for revenge on Larry LaSalle.

She is an innocent young girl who is Francis’s first and only love and the victim of a sexual assault by Larry LaSalle.

Larry is a mysterious youth worker with the ability to uncover and nurture the talents of others but he also has an evil secret.

Athur was once a star baseball player who through his distress and pain comes to represent all those who suffered in the war.

Enrico shows courage as he deals with his terrible injuries and his determination to kill himself links him with Francis, his old comrade.