Anna
Anna is a forlorn wanderer in England whose childhood and young life in the Caribbean were colorful and vibrant. Her father has died, and her stepmother sold the estate and kept the money, leaving Anna to struggle as a disenfranchised member of the lowest social status. Anna is constantly faced with the dilemma about prostitution, and many of the women in this novel encourage her to loosen up and accept her fate as a prostitute. Instead, she only has sex with men she wants to, but they still use her. Eventually, she is found pregnant. Laurie talks her into aborting the pregnancy, but Anna is hospitalized by the botched abortion.
Walter
The first suitor Anna meets in England is a man named Walter. She meets him down at Southsea but when she visits him in London for their date, she realizes that Walter has assumed she is a prostitute. Walter must apologize and make reparations for his clumsy assumption, but Anna misunderstands his guilty behavior as love. Anna eventually sleeps with him (her first time having sex) but then he abandons her.
Maudie
Maudie is Anna's closest friend, but she is aloof and needy. Maudie needs money from Anna on a couple occasions, but Anna is already as poor as she could possibly be. Maudie seems to have some dependence issues.
Laurie
A prostitute whose fun-loving personality makes her very popular. Although she serves as a foil to Anna's character, it is Laurie who helps Anna to find someone to fund her abortion, although the abortion goes horribly wrong.
Ethel
Ethel is a villainous woman who exploits needy women by hiring them to work at a spa, and then urging them to become prostitutes where Ethel is the Madame. Ethel is angry when Anna sleeps with men for emotional or personal reasons. Anna realizes that Ethel is bad news when Ethel starts harassing her for money.
Carl
Another affair of Anna's is with an American guy named Carl, a friend of Laurie the prostitute. After they sleep together, Anna learns that Carl has a wife in America, and he leaves her without a second thought.
Hester
Anna has an evil stepmother who steals her inheritance. Hester, the stepmother, lies to Anna, but Anna's honor is defended by her Uncle Bo who accuses Hester of stealing from Anna. In any case, Anna must come to terms with the fact that her stepmother's selfishness and evil has left her in desperate need.
