Seymour ‘Sam’ Brooks
Seymour "Sam" Brooks is the main character and protagonist of the novel. Sam is a Recorded Program Director (or RPD) for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and their radio stations. Sam is an exceptionally intelligent, hard-working, and innovative man, but he is also self-centered, obsessive about his job, and not fully aware of what is going on around him. That's why Sam has attempted to insulate himself from the politics and in-fighting in the BBC by hiring a staff of female RPAs, each of whom Sam grows close with. Relatively quickly, Sam starts to fall in love with a 17-year-old new hire named Annie Asra, who is hired as an RPA by the BBC after Sam's hiring privileges were revoked. The two quickly grow close, but Sam is eventually killed a bomb on one tragic night.
Annie Asra
Annie Asra is the doe-eyed 17-year-old RPA that the management of the BBC hires to replace Lise Bernard. Though she is young, she is clearly a very intelligent young woman who is very capable. Soon after meeting Sam for the first time, she falls in love with him. And after the two go to a fancy and expensive French restaurant, Annie professes her love to Sam (love which he reciprocates).
Jeff Haggard
Jeff Haggard is the BBC's Director of Program Planning (DPP) and is responsible for the overall direction and management of the BBC and its radio programs. Jeff is also Sam's boss; he likes Sam quite a bit and works very hard to shield him from the politics and bureaucracy of the BBC. At the end of the novel, Fitzgerald reveals that Jeff has quit the BBC, a job that he loved so much.
Lise Bernard
Lise Bernard has recently started at the BBC after being hired by Sam as an RPA. She is a hard-working and kind woman who appears to be loved and respected by her coworkers but quits her job to try and find her French boyfriend who is a soldier named Jeff who is missing. Lise leaves London, but quickly returns, pregnant and seeking shelter.
