Sebastián Pérez Delgado
It is Sebastián’s murder that fuels the plot. He had been an investigative reporter writing dangerous stories about the Mexican drug cartels. The story opens with the assault upon the home he shares with his extended family.
Lydia and Luca
Lydia is Sebastián’s wife and mother to Luca. They are the only two who have survived the massacre which targeted her husband and included the rest of the family as insurance and a message. Knowing that she and Luca are certain to be hunted down, they make their escape. In addition to leaving behind her home, Lydia must also bid farewell to the successful bookstore she runs. Their escape becomes the focus of the novel as mother and son seek anonymity among the many undocumented Mexicans trying to immigrate to America.
Javier Fuentes
Although ostensibly a happily married woman, Lydia does establish a questionably close relationship with a customer named Javier Fuentes. The relationship begins with the unlikely coincidence of the stranger choosing two of the books she identifies as her secret treasures for purchase. Shared love of books turns to flirtation before settling down into a platonic friendship based on an increasingly unlikely number of coincidences before things take a turn for the worst. Lydia’s husband has been writing about the newest big bad cartel in town and their ruthless leader La Lechuza who just so happens to be Lydia’s favorite customer.
Carlos and Meredith
Carlos is an old friend of Sebastián’s and Meredith is his American wife who came to Mexico as a missionary many years ago, fell in love and pretty much settled down to work as the liaison between her Indiana church and Mexico. Lydia seeks them out for help in getting into America involving a van filled with American missionaries on its way to Mexico City.
Soledad and Rebeca
Soledad and Rebeca are two beautiful teenage sisters with Soledad managing to leap beyond merely beautiful into an entirely differently sphere due to a certain “glow” about her that sets her off Rebeca and instantly captivates young Luca. They are streetwise and also on the run and therefore filled with very useful information that they have to impart to Lydia that she will need to learn if she is to be successful in making it all the way to the American border.
Lorenzo and El Chacal
Lorenzo is a member of Javier’s cartel who recognizes Lydia as the woman the whole cartel is looking for. However, he claims that he, too, is on the run after having made the decision to get out of a life that nobody is allowed to simply leave. He informs Lydia that just days after discovering the truth about her father, Javier’s daughter committed suicide. The string of coincidences involving Javier continue as Lorenzo just so happens to hire the same coyote that Soledad and Rebeca hired, El Chacal, which translates into “the jackal.”
