Bill Gray
Bill Gray, the novel's protagonist, is a formerly successful novelist who lives an intentionally secluded life. He has avoided all press attention for several decades and his whereabouts remains unknown. This obscurity has created something of a frenzy, and people go to great lengths to find him. He has spent many years working on a novel, which he works on daily. As he reveals to Brita, the photographer who will finally take his photo, he has already finished the novel and obsessively rewrites it over and over again. He allows his property and livelihood to be managed by Scott, a former fan who found Bill. In conversation with his former manager, it is also revealed that he was married twice, both of which ended in divorce. From one marriage he has a daughter who lives in Boston. He also struggled with alcoholism and after being sober for many years, he has begun drinking again.
Gray is eventually pulled out of hiding by his former manager. He is sought after to help in the release of a hostage, a Swiss poet, taken by a Maoist group in Beirut. When a series of bombings derails Bill's involvement in the process, he flees to Cyprus. While walking in the street, he is hit by the a car. Though he is not in immediate danger, he feels lingering pain. While talking with a group, they suggest that his liver has been damaged. Regardless, he continues to drink heavily. While taking a ferry to get to Lebanon, his liver fails and he dies in his sleep.
Brita
Brita is a Belgian photographer who has found acclaim in her photographs of authors. She is deeply driven to capture the faces of obscure authors, just like Bill. When taking Bill's photograph, the two connect and he begins to open up to her. She leaves the following day, though he continues to send her messages on her voicemail. She and Scott eventually sleep together, and after Bill goes missing, Karen lives with her in her New York apartment. At the novel's conclusion she has abandoned her pursuit of photographing authors and travels to Beirut to photograph Abu Rashad, the terrorist leader whose hostage-taking lead to Bill's death.
Scott
A wayward traveller in his youth, Scott came across one of Bill's novels and grew obsessed. He read all of Bill's work and began to view him as a spiritual figure. He travelled in abject conditions for months in order to find Bill. He moves in with Bill and takes care of all his affairs, pressuring Bill to write all day. He is manipulative and possessive of Bill, and prevents him from publishing his latest novel. He and Karen engage in a relationship, though she also sleeps with Bill. They call themselves a family, and Delilo presents them much like a cult organization.
Karen
The novel begins as Karen is marrying in a Unifiication Church Blessing Ceremony. She is to marry a men whom she has never met before, and will not see for several months following the marriage. Her parents worry about her devotion to the cult, and eventually kidnap her for de-progamming. She escapes, and is picked up by Scott. He eventually takes her to Bill's home and the two carry out a relationship. Once Bill leaves, she travels to New York where she spends time in a homeless camp. She prophesies the return of a religious figure, and it is uncertain if she refers to Bill or Christ. She returns to Bill's home at the end of the novel.
The Swiss Prisoner
The Swiss prisoner was a poet captured by a Maoist organization in Beirut. He remains imprisoned, and his excruciating ordeal is recounted. At first, he fantasizes about women and freedom, though he later loses any conception of the outside world. At the end of the novel, it is revealed that he was sold to a group of religious fundamentalists and his fate remains unknown.
George Haddad
George Haddad is a representative from the Maoist group that has captured the Swiss poet. He is to meet with Bill to facilitate the release of the prisoner. He and Bill slowly bond, and George shares his views of Maoism with Bill. He repeatedly suggests that Bill begin to use a word processor to produce his work.
Abu Rashid
Rashid is the leader of the Maoist group. He is only directly featured in the final pages of the novel when Brita travels to take his photograph. She believes him to be conceited and foolish. He lives in a slum and plasters posters of his face across Beirut. He educates local children in the hopes of creating a militia, and believes that his Maoism will spread across the world.
