Robin is a young, restless American woman living in Europe with a profoundly untamed and nomadic nature. She exudes an aura of both grace and clumsiness, often behaving with a detached, sleepwalking quality. Her discomfort with traditional societal expectations drives her to wander alone at night and seek out unconventional relationships.

Matthew is an unlicensed, Irish-American medical student from San Francisco specializing in gynecology. Though he maintains a highly gregarious public persona as a storyteller and philosophical advisor in cafes, he leads a solitary private life. He experiences intense internal conflict regarding his gender, harboring deep desires to live as a woman.

Felix is an Austrian man who perpetuates a false claim to nobility by styling himself as a baron. Working at a bank but obsessed with the aristocracy of historical Europe, he moves through society with formal affectations like wearing a monocle. He actively seeks a wife to produce an heir who will appreciate his fabricated royal lineage.

Nora is an American entertainment publicist in her late twenties who runs an eccentric salon for artists and radicals back in the United States. She is a tall, sincere woman with a pure-hearted and fiercely devoted disposition. Her immediate infatuation with Robin prompts her to uproot her life and move to Paris.

Jenny is a middle-aged widow who survives on the wealth amassed from four deceased husbands. Known derogatorily as 'the squatter,' she possesses a small, nervous physical presence and lacks a distinct personality of her own. She copes with this emptiness by mimicking the mannerisms of other people and adopting their emotional lives.

Guido is the young son of Felix and Robin, named after his paternal grandfather. He is physically small for his age and struggles with mental and emotional development. Displaying a highly sensitive disposition, he develops a strong, obsessive interest in visiting churches.

Guido Senior was a gourmet and dandy of Italian Jewish descent who faced religious discrimination in Europe. To circumvent the social limitations placed upon him, he manufactured a false identity as a baron of the House of Hapsburg, purchasing antique portraits to serve as proof of his supposed aristocratic blood.

Hedvig is a formidable woman of military beauty, described variously as Viennese or Florentine. She gives birth to her only child at the age of forty-five and passes away moments later, leaving behind a legacy of genuine strength that contrasts with her late husband's fabricated nobility.

Frau Mann, who performs under the stage name 'The Duchess of Broadback,' is a trapeze artist and circus performer. She is so deeply integrated into her performative life that the fabric of her tights appears indistinguishable from her own skin.

The Count is an outlandish figure living in Berlin whose actual nationality and claim to nobility are highly suspect. He hosts eccentric gatherings for circus performers, artists, and pseudo-aristocrats.

Sylvia is a young, motherless girl who resides in the gloomy household of Jenny Pentherbridge. She is a quiet presence who becomes a source of tension when she shows a strong preference for Robin's company.