RASHI - an East Indian paroled convict in his middle thirties. Possessor of a keen, analytical mind, he masks his feelings behind his Indian garb and a great show of manners.
DR. PAUL MARCHAND -
ANNE ROYCE MCCLAIN - Anne is in her 70s, her age varies with her mood. America's foremost and most venerable mystery writer. Through arthritis seemingly confined to a wheelchair, she is otherwise in vigorous health. Anne's caustic wit, her dynamic modern outlook, her elegant, aristocratic face still show traces of the "Golden Girl" who captivated Paris in the twenties - when she feasted on all that city had to offer the talented and avent garde. She is feisty, ribald, and guardedly sentimental. Her abrasive tongue is a vestige of her old background as a Hearst feature writer; this before she gave up hard-nosed journalism for her fabulous career as a successful suspense novelist.
PAMELA HARRISON - Anne's granddaughter, a sweet, innocent young woman of twenty-five. The unfortunate victim of a plane crash, she is brain-damaged with a mental age of 15.
LAWRENCE MCCLAIN - Anne's oldest child. In his 40s: editor of an esoteric poetry magazine. Larry tries to compete with his mother from his own literary pinnacle, but unfortunately, fails.
SHEILA MCCLAIN - Larry's wife, beautiful, in her 30s, operates a successful art gallery. Sheila has a light, blithe manner, but underneath the Madison Avenue chic and small talk there is a core of steel. Her beauty is exceeded only by her ruthless ambition.
MARK HARRISON - Pamela's husband. 30. An attractive, aggressive foreign car dealer with all the smooth, aggressive glibness of his trade.