Miranda is a 22-year-old white American who recently moved from Michigan to Boston to work in a junior fundraising position for public radio. Lonely and relatively inexperienced with city life, she wishes to broaden her horizons and soon begins a secret relationship with an older, married man.

Dev is a wealthy investment banker in his early forties who originally moved to the United States from India to escape the Emergency. Debonair and confident, he treats Miranda to expensive dates and shares glamorous stories of his youth. Despite his outward charm, he dictates the terms of his extramarital relationship entirely to suit his own convenience.

Laxmi is Miranda's coworker at the public radio station. She is a married Indian American woman slightly older than the protagonist. Socially confident and comfortable discussing private matters at work, she maintains deep connections to a global network of family and friends. This rich social life provides a clear contrast to Miranda's solitary lifestyle.

Rohin is a precocious seven-year-old boy who has skipped two grades and reportedly speaks four languages. He arrives in Boston physically exhausted and emotionally vulnerable due to his parents' recent separation. Despite his youth, he acutely understands the reality of his father's actions.