cadmium is the dreamer of the family; she loves animals and has an incredible amount of guinea-pigs and hamsters. she falls in love with her driving instructor, michael, and it is she, initially, who looks after the other children. she loves her family, and often returns home to visit whilst studying zoology in london. saffron, or saffy, is the realist; she is scornful, sarcastic, and fiercely intelligent. really, she only wants to be loved; she often leans on her best friend sarah for support. she discovers in the first book that she is actually the daughter of eve's sister linda. in "permanent rose" she discovers that her father is bill (eve's husband and father of the other children, making her both the casson children's cousin and half-sister). indigo is the only boy. he is music-loving and sensitive, and his best friends are tom and david. rose is the true artist of the family. if not stopped, she will cover the walls of their house with paintings and drawings. eve is their ditzy mother who spends her time in the shed painting, when she isn't "hanging her young offenders" (she teaches them art on saturday mornings) or painting murals in the local hospital. she hardly ever cooks a proper meal, so the children live on tinned food and indigo's adventurous cooking, but she loves all her children and sees how special all of them are in their own way. their father bill is almost always in london and hardly ever home, although occasionally manages to save the day before disappearing back to his studio and girlfriend in london.