Patrick is a wealthy, young Wall Street stockbroker working at the firm P & P in 1980s New York City. He is obsessively focused on his public image, maintaining rigorous personal grooming routines, an immaculate apartment, and a hyper-awareness of designer brands and expensive restaurants. Beneath this polished, consumerist exterior, he harbors dark, psychopathic impulses and violent fantasies that increasingly threaten to bleed into his daily life.

Evelyn is Patrick's fiancée and a prominent member of his wealthy social circle. She is heavily invested in her public image, social status, and the superficial markers of success in 1980s New York. Addicted to antidepressants, she remains oblivious to Patrick's true nature and dark confessions, often dominating their conversations with talk of weddings, spas, and cosmetic surgery.

Jean is Patrick's secretary at the firm. She is observant and harbors genuine romantic feelings for her boss. Unlike the other women in Patrick's social circle, she displays a more naive, earnest demeanor, making her an anomaly in the cutthroat, superficial environment of Wall Street.

Timothy is a young, highly motivated stockbroker who socializes with Patrick. He is arrogant, frequently consumes cocaine, and enjoys humiliating those he considers beneath him socially. He considers himself an indispensable asset to society.

Craig is a business associate who frequents upscale bars and clubs with Patrick. He shares the group's obsession with status, reservations at exclusive restaurants, and superficial judgments about women and clothing.

David is another Wall Street stockbroker in Patrick's inner circle. He actively participates in the group's competitive posturing, specifically regarding business cards and exclusive club memberships.

Luis is a colleague of Patrick's who dates Courtney. He is somewhat marginalized by Patrick's core group of friends but remains eager to please and interact with Patrick, harboring intense personal feelings for him that Patrick finds repulsive.

Courtney is a friend of Evelyn's and the girlfriend of Luis Carruthers. She is heavily medicated on prescription drugs like lithium, which often leaves her completely checked out and sluggish during social interactions.

Paul is a successful stockbroker who handles the prestigious Fisher account. He continually confuses Patrick with another colleague, highlighting the interchangeable nature of the young executives in their firm. He holds a slightly higher social position than Patrick.

Marcus is a stockbroker at the same firm as Patrick. He does the exact same job, wears the same designer brands, and possesses the same general appearance, making him indistinguishable from Patrick in the eyes of their peers.

Donald is a private investigator hired to look into the sudden disappearance of a prominent Wall Street broker. He methodically questions Patrick and his associates to piece together timelines and alibis.

Sean is Patrick's brother. Despite having no obvious job or talents and a history of aimless behavior, he is inexplicably popular and well-connected, able to secure reservations at exclusive restaurants that Patrick cannot access.

Stash is an artist who runs in Evelyn's social circles. He wears ill-fitting, cheap clothes and has a bad haircut, drawing mockery from Patrick's status-obsessed group. He openly behaves misanthropically at social gatherings.

Vanden is Stash's girlfriend. Like Stash, she does not conform to the high-fashion standards of Patrick's group and behaves inappropriately at formal social gatherings.

Bethany is Patrick's former girlfriend from his time at Harvard University. She now dates a chef who co-owns the highly coveted restaurant Dorsia, a fact that infuriates Patrick.

Patricia is a young woman who goes on a date with Patrick early in the story. She becomes visibly sulky when Patrick fails to secure reservations at her preferred, highly exclusive restaurant.

Christie is a sex worker who Patrick hires with large sums of cash. She is subjected to his rigorous, controlling instructions regarding her appearance, hygiene, and behavior.

Elizabeth is a fashion model who Patrick invites to his apartment. She participates in his substance-fueled, highly orchestrated encounters.