Maeve Glover
Maeve is the story's protagonist, a young woman struggling with anxiety and panic disorders. Maeve is an unsure woman who always worries and thinks of bad things happening to her. Maeve lives with her mother, but her situation worsens when her mother travels to another country for six months and asks her to go and live with her father in Vancouver.
When Maeve relocates to Vancouver to live with her father's extended family, she expects her situation to worsen. Maeve is particularly unsure of her father's reaction to her presence. The father is recovering from alcoholism and relapses. Maeve also has to live with her stepmother. While in Vancouver, Maeve meets Salix and starts a romantic relationship.
Salix
Salix is a violin-buskin woman who is charming, entertaining, supportive, and encouraging. The first day Maeve meets Salix, she feels something special about her. With time, Salix and Maeve start a romantic relationship. Salix understands Maeve's struggles and encourages her to remain strong and optimistic. At last, Salix manages to help Maeve to overcome her anxiety and panic disorders.
Maeve’s mom
Maeve's mom is ambitious and wants to pursue her goals and relationships. When she decides to travel away from home for six months, she sends Maeve to live with her father in Vancouver. Despite knowing Maeve's situation, the mother sends her to her dad, who is a recovering alcoholic.
Maeve’s Dad
Maeve's dad is a recovering alcoholic living in Vancouver with his extended family. Maeve's dad is married to another woman. When Maeve arrives, she discovers her father suffers from relapses, making his recovery journey difficult.
Carol Epperly
Carol is a depressed woman who thinks she has no reason to live. Carol throws herself on the rail track and is run over by the speeding train. Maeve wonders why a pretty woman can throw herself on the rail track. The train crashes Carol, and her brain and body parts are smashed.
Doug
Doug is Carol's husband. The narrator describes Doug as an aggressive man who pushes his wife into depression. Doug operates a lawn mower repair shop in Everett. After Caro dies, Doug is left to care for two boys who do not understand why their mother died early.
