Connie Laffey
Connie is the narrator. She's an old woman now, looking back upon her life and the heritage of her family in Australia. She's grown up listening to her grandmother's stories about the family, especially her parents whom Connie knew only for a short while. In her aging body, she finds solace in systematically reciting her family history in order to remind herself of her contribution and propitiation of legacy. She's depressed after her brother, Will, leaves for the last time. They had always been closer than most siblings, one time only having had sexual intercourse on a beach. She tried to counsel him, to ease the pain of age, but he decided to face the challenge on his own.
Will Laffey
Will is Connie's brother. He's gay, which in his younger years was a considerable dilemma considering the way his peers abused him in school. Eventually Will falls in love with a redneck from the north, but the slightly older man is just using the boy for amusement. Will is crushed, but he returns to the family and appears to find consolation living with Connie and Reever. In the end, he leaves to greet his death alone. The implication of his gun in the truck is certain.
Cornelius Laffey
The patriarch of the Laffey family, Cornelius first emigrated from Canada to Australia. He was a restless kind of man who staunchly opposed society's corruption of decency. He advocated against racism, using his journalist work as a platform, which eventually got him fired. After enduring a long series of disappointments and griefs, he leaves his family one day and never returns.
Jessica Olive
She is the matriarch. It is from Grandma Jessica that Connie learns of her rich heritage. It is also Jessica who raises Harry, who in turn raises Connie and Will after Harry's parents, George and Mag die unexpectedly.
Nadine
Nadine is Cornelius and Jessica's daughter. She gets pregnant as a teenager and gives birth to Harry. Working in a brothel, however, she cannot raise him and gives the boy to her mother. She works herself to death for Harry.
George
George is Nadine's brother. He's a more responsible man who marries a good woman named Mag. They give birth to Connie and Will, but they die unexpectedly and leave their kids to Harry to raise.
Harry
Harry, Nadine's son, having been raised by his grandma has an advantage in life. The grounding which she offered him sticks with Harry, even when he adopts the troubled Connie and Will. He's violently murdered one day.
Bidgi Mumbler
Bidgi endears himself to Cornelius when they are young. He's an aboriginal who establishes his family nearby but suffers from discrimination and struggles to rise above the challenges. Still his family and the Laffey's remain close for each successive generation.
