Josie is a 17-year-old resident of the French Quarter who works at Marlowe Bookshop and cleans at Willie's brothel. She longs to escape New Orleans and her mother's reputation to start a respectable life, setting her sights on attending an elite East Coast college. Bright, resourceful, and fiercely independent, she keeps a hidden gun for protection and curates a secret list of respectable men she imagines could be her father.

Willie is the formidable, sharp-tongued madam of a French Quarter brothel. She wears dark red lipstick and maintains strict control over her business and the people in her employ. Behind her brash exterior, she observes everything in the neighborhood and acts as a tough but fiercely protective guardian for Josie.

Patrick is a recent Loyola graduate who helps run his family's bookstore in the French Quarter. He is handsome, well-dressed, and shares Josie's passion for literature and observation. He shoulders heavy personal responsibilities, including caring for his father, and communicates his complex emotions through playing the piano.

Louise is Josie's mother, a beautiful but selfish woman who works as a prostitute in the French Quarter. She prioritizes money, appearances, and her chaotic romantic life over her daughter's well-being. She harbors unrealistic dreams of moving to Hollywood to become a famous actress.

John Lockwell is a wealthy, married businessman from the pristine Uptown neighborhood. He frequently visits the French Quarter for illicit entertainment, demonstrating the hypocrisy of the upper class. He treats his interactions with working-class women as a game of power and manipulation.

Cincinnati is a violent criminal with ties to the local mob. He commands fear in the French Quarter and holds a vindictive grudge against Josie for defending her mother against him in the past. He relies on intimidation and physical force to get what he wants.

Cokie is a mixed-race driver who operates his own cab and occasionally chauffeurs Willie in her luxury Cadillac, Mariah. He serves as a steadfast, stabilizing presence in the Quarter and firmly believes in Josie's potential to escape to a better life.

Jesse is a strikingly handsome young man who lives in the Quarter with his grandmother. He is a first-generation college student who sells flowers and spends his free time restoring a car. Despite constant attention from local and Uptown girls looking for adventure, he focuses his flirtatious and respectful attention entirely on Josie.

Forrest Hearne is a wealthy, stylish tourist and architect visiting New Orleans. He treats Josie with immediate respect, assuming she is a college student, and bonds with her over their shared humble beginnings and love for *David Copperfield*.

Charlotte is a friendly, poised student at Smith College visiting her aunt and uncle in New Orleans. Coming from a respectable and wealthy background, she represents everything Josie aspires to be and graciously encourages Josie to apply to her college.

Charlie is Patrick's father and the owner of Marlowe Bookshop. He provided young Josie with a converted office to sleep in to escape her mother. He currently suffers from severe, declining mental health following a brutal robbery.

Dora is a buxom, red-headed prostitute who works at Willie's brothel. She acts as a friendly, older-sister figure to Josie, offering her practical advice about life in the Quarter.

Evangeline is a short, mean-spirited prostitute working for Willie. She is a reformed kleptomaniac who frequently antagonizes Josie and aggressively pursues wealthy clients from Uptown.

Sweety is one of the kinder prostitutes working at Willie's brothel. She treats Josie with genuine warmth, occasionally lending her nice items for special occasions, and represents the softer side of the Quarter's working women.

Sadie is the mute cook and housekeeper at Willie's brothel. She provides quiet, steady labor in the chaotic house and expresses her care for the residents through cooking and maintaining order.

James works at Doubleday, a rival bookstore in New Orleans. He runs in the same social and professional circles as Patrick, maintaining a friendly rivalry and a close personal bond.

Miss Paulsen is a sophisticated local professor at Loyola and an alumna of Smith College. She is a longtime friend of the Marlowe family who holds strict standards about academic pedigree and social standing.

Frankie works as a lookout and runner for Willie in the French Quarter. He keeps track of neighborhood gossip, police movements, and the comings and goings of dangerous individuals.

Lilly Lockwell is the wealthy aunt of Charlotte Gates and the wife of John Lockwell. She is deeply entrenched in Uptown society and views anyone from the French Quarter with immediate, thinly veiled judgment.

Elizabeth is Charlotte's younger cousin who lives in the wealthy Uptown neighborhood. She is sheltered, snobbish, and deeply concerned with the social standing of the guests at her family's events.

Richard is Elizabeth's brother and Charlotte's cousin. He embodies the cruelty of elite society, possessing a mean streak and acting with open hostility toward anyone he deems socially inferior or different.

Detective Langley is a New Orleans police officer investigating a suspicious incident in the Quarter. He represents the ever-present threat of law enforcement that residents of the Quarter carefully avoid.