 Mary Hare - an eccentric and troubled heiress born into a reputable family of early Australian settlers, now living in a decaying estate on the outskirts of Sarsaparilla.Dismissed as mad by most of the townsfolk, she nonetheless perceives with great clarity the events that will lead to the novel’s climax.Mordecai Himmelfarb - A German Jew who leads a distinguished if provincial career as an English professor after decorated service in World War I, until the rising tide of anti-Semitism that accompanies the Third Reich robs him of his wife.