Yeva is a protagonist of the novel, a round and dynamic character whose journey is one of reluctant re-engagement with a world she has renounced. A malacologist, Yeva begins the narrative in a state of profound nihilism, her conservation mission having devolved from a passionate rescue operation to a hospice for dying species. Disillusioned with her work and the world’s indifference, she uses international romance tours to fund her increasingly futile efforts and, eventually, to plan her own death by suicide. Her isolation is symbolized by her mobile lab, a self-contained unit that functions as both a sanctuary for her snails and a fortress for her emotional detachment. “None of it mattered anymore. Even Yeva was tired of Yeva” (3), she reflects, encapsulating her initial state of burnout and self-loathing. This detachment extends to her relationships; she has cut off contact with a fellow conservationist, Kevin, to avoid emotional entanglement, and maintains a strained, distant relationship with her family, who fail to understand her life’s work and her asexuality.

The kidnapping plot thrusts Yeva out of her planned trajectory toward death and forces her into a role of reluctant responsibility, not for snails, but for humans.