Noah Underwood
Noah Underwood is the main character and protagonist of Flush. The novel is told in first-person point of view by Noah.
Enlisted by his father Paine, Noah takes on the task of discovering whether or not a sinister casino boat owner nicknamed Dusty is the cause of the local marina's pollution. With the help of his sister, Noah is able to discover that Dusty is dumping sewage illegally into the water.
Noah had a relatively average childhood before becoming entangled with the events on the casino boat the Coral Queen. His father is arrested after being accused of sinking the ship, and he becomes determined to prove that his father is innocent and Dusty is the one to blame.
Noah's breakthrough experiment in the novel is pouring food coloring down the toilets to show that Dusty was indeed pouring sewage into the harbor. The Coast Guard is notified, and Dusty's ship is shut down. However, Dusty is able to pay a small fine and open back up for business.
This angers Noah and his family, and Paine is again accused of harming the ship—this time of burning it down. Noah helps discover that the true culprit was Dusty's careless son. The novel ends with Noah and his family sailing on a cruise ship peacefully.
Paine Underwood
The father of Noah, Paine is another protagonist in the story. A staunch environmentalist, Paine becomes worried of the damage that Dusty seems to be causing to the local marina. However, after being accused of sinking the Coral Queen, Paine is arrested and in jail for most of the novel.
Paine is assisted by his son Noah in discovering who was really at fault for the sinking, and if Dusty was causing pollution. Near the end of the novel, Paine is accused of setting fire to the Coral Queen. The story is somewhat believable because at this point, Paine's hatred for Dusty and his casino boat is well known. However, it is proven that Paine was innocent of both offenses, and he is released free of charges.
Dusty Muleman
Dusty is the main antagonist of the novel, and owns the casino boat the Coral Queen. Dusty is not seen much throughout the novel, but is often talked about, always in a negative way.
Dusty accuses Noah's father, Paine, of intentionally sinking his ship. Near the end of the novel, he again accuses Paine of setting fire to the Coral Queen to take the blame off of his son, who was smoking cigarettes on the ship.
Dusty's operation and illegal sewage dumping is noticed by the Coast Guard, and he is forced to shut down his business for a time. However, after paying a small fine, he reopens. By the end of the novel, it becomes evident that Dusty was the cause of all of the pollution and posed a threat to the community. As such he was charged with embezzlement and tax fraud.
