Born Susan, Roxana is a strikingly beautiful, intelligent woman who uses her charms to secure financial independence in a patriarchal society. After being left destitute with five children, she transforms from a dependent wife into a calculating mistress. She values her autonomy, preferring to manage her own fortunes over submitting to the financial control of a husband.

Amy is Roxana's fiercely loyal maid and closest confidante. She stays with Roxana through destitution, acting as a practical agent who arranges care for Roxana's abandoned children. Far from a passive servant, Amy serves as an active influence, often encouraging her mistress to use her sexuality for financial gain and survival.

The Brewer is Roxana's first, legitimate husband. Though physically handsome and capable of fathering five children in quick succession, he is entirely incompetent in business. He loses his brewery, squanders Roxana's dowry, and ultimately abandons his family by riding off on a hunting trip and never returning.

The Landlord is a middle-aged jeweler who is separated from his own wife. He steps in as Roxana's savior when she is starving, gradually escalating his charitable dinners and domestic refurbishments into a protracted courtship. He offers her the security and benefits of a wife in exchange for her becoming his mistress.

The Prince is a wealthy, gallant French aristocrat who is captivated by Roxana's beauty. Although he has a legitimate wife, he leads a double life, providing his mistresses with country houses and financial support. He offers Roxana overseas adventures, taking her to Italy and keeping her in immense splendor.

The Dutch Merchant is an honorable, pragmatic businessman who assists Roxana with her complicated financial affairs. Believing her to be a legitimate widow, he grows close to her and attempts to transition their relationship from a financial arrangement into a marriage. He struggles to understand her desire to retain independent control of her wealth.

The Daughter is Roxana's legitimate child from her first marriage to The Brewer. Having grown up in poverty after being abandoned, she later ends up working as a servant in the very house where her mother hosts lavish, exotic parties. She possesses a deep emotional need to find and be recognized by her mother.

The Quaker Woman is a modest mother of four who supports her family by taking in lodgers because of an unreliable husband. She provides Roxana with a quiet, respectable retreat from her scandalous life in London. Despite her religious modesty, she exhibits a notable degree of financial independence and forms a close bond with her disguised tenant.