Jane is a 22-year-old maid working for the wealthy Niven family at their Beechwood estate in Berkshire. As an orphan with no family to visit on the traditional servants' holiday, she expects to spend the day alone reading. Instead, she receives a rare invitation to visit her lover at his home. She possesses a vivid imagination and a sharp observational sense, contrasting her lower-class status with her rich inner life.

Paul is the 23-year-old sole surviving son of the wealthy Sheringham family. He is engaged to marry a woman of his own social standing but maintains a years-long secret affair with Jane. He feels the heavy expectations of his grieving parents and the surrounding upper-middle-class community, often acting with a mix of quiet rebellion and conventional duty.

Emma is a young, middle-class woman engaged to marry Paul Sheringham. Though she remains unseen by Jane, Emma figures prominently in Jane's thoughts as the socially appropriate future wife of Paul. She represents the rigid societal conventions, financial arrangements, and proper upper-middle-class expectations that govern the Berkshire community.

Mr. Niven is the patriarchal employer of Jane at the Beechwood estate. He carries the profound grief of losing his two sons, Philip and James, in the First World War. He is a relatively lenient employer, permitting Jane access to the family library, though he remains fundamentally bound to the social structures of the era.

Mrs. Niven is the matriarch of the Beechwood estate. Like her husband, she is deeply affected by the loss of her sons in the war, contributing to the melancholic, static atmosphere of the house.

Milly is the cook at the Beechwood estate. Slightly older than Jane, she suffered her own tragic losses during the war when her beau was killed. She channels her maternal instincts toward Jane, offering her guidance and warmth in the servants' quarters.

Ethel is a maid working at the Sheringham estate, Upleigh. She is pragmatic and deeply entrenched in her identity as a servant. Jane often considers Ethel's rigid worldview and unimaginative approach to her duties, viewing her as a foil to her own vivid imagination.

Mr. Sheringham is Paul's father and the patriarch of the Upleigh estate. He belongs to the fading upper-middle-class world of Berkshire, seeking to secure his family's legacy through his sole surviving son's upcoming marriage to Emma Hobday.

Mrs. Sheringham is Paul's mother and the matriarch of Upleigh. She fully expects to celebrate her son's engagement alongside the Nivens and Hobdays, representing the conventional expectations placed upon Paul.

Iris is a servant at Upleigh. She receives a ride from Paul on Mothering Sunday so she can visit her family, demonstrating the brief intersections between the serving class and their employers.

Philip is one of the Nivens' two sons who died in World War I. His untouched bedroom and surviving belongings, like his old bicycle, serve as a constant reminder of the war's devastating toll on the family.

James is the other deceased son of the Niven family. His death in the war deeply impacted his parents and the household dynamics at Beechwood, leaving the home quiet and full of grief.