Estelle is a nervous, reflective young woman who works in the Filing Department of an unnamed company in Toronto. Recently relocated to the city, she struggles with loneliness and spends much of her time compulsively imagining elaborate, often absurd scenarios involving potential attackers. She has a defensive, rambling narrative style that masks her anxieties about safety and societal expectations.

Chrissy is the pretty and immaculate office receptionist who initiates the lunchroom conversation about violence and desire. She maintains a perfectly composed exterior that makes her appear painted with nail polish. Her willingness to openly share a fantasy about a man joining her in a bubble bath sets the tone for the awkward group discussion.

Darlene is a 41-year-old divorced woman who works in the office with Estelle. She is the oldest of the group and exhibits clear discomfort when discussing sex or violence, strictly insisting that women endanger themselves by going out alone at night. She actively distances herself from the other women's lighthearted approach to the topic.

Greta is a coworker who frequently competes for attention during group conversations. She previously worked in Detroit, a fact she uses to assert authority on urban danger. During the breakroom discussion, she shares an elaborate fantasy involving a man swinging into her high-rise apartment on a rope.

Sondra is a quiet office worker who plays bridge with the group but contributes the least to the discussion. She appears highly reactive to the conversation, nervously chomping on her food and attempting to interject, only to be repeatedly cut off or overshadowed by her more vocal peers.

Derek Cummins is a man who works at the same unnamed company as Estelle. Estelle briefly considers him while trying to reconcile the media's claim that women are usually attacked by someone they know, illustrating her creeping paranoia about her familiar surroundings.

Estelle's mother lives in Leamington and maintains a practical, dismissive attitude toward fear. She frequently advises her daughter that worrying does not help anything. Her home serves as the setting for Estelle's most frightening mental scenario, tying Estelle's childhood environment to her current anxieties.