Jean is an unmarried journalist in her thirties who works as a features editor and columnist at the North Kent Echo. She balances her demanding job as the only woman on the editorial team with her domestic obligations as the primary caretaker for her frail mother. Practical and observant, she often suppresses her own desires, allowing herself only minor luxuries like saving unused cosmetics in a drawer. Her routine is disrupted when she takes on a peculiar investigation that introduces her to new social circles.

Gretchen is a thirty-year-old Swiss-German seamstress living in Sidcup. Immaculate in her presentation and homemaking, she projects the image of an ideal 1950s housewife. She initiates the central investigation by claiming she became pregnant with her daughter without male involvement while staying at St. Cecilia's Home for Convalescents to treat her rheumatoid arthritis.

Howard is a kind and generous jeweler who married Gretchen and raised Margaret as his own child. He maintains a well-kept garden and presents a gentlemanly, traditional demeanor. Confined by the social values he is expected to uphold, he forms an unexpected bond with Jean that brings long-suppressed feelings to the surface.

Margaret is Gretchen and Howard's young daughter. She bears a striking resemblance to her mother with brown curls and delicate features. She is a happy child who occasionally claims to hear angels speaking unusual words to her, adding an element of mystery to her origins.

Mrs. Swinney is Jean's elderly mother who relies entirely on her daughter for daily caretaking. Having lost her husband and social status years ago, she is perpetually dissatisfied and sharp-tongued. She frequently alienates those around her while remaining firmly dependent on Jean's dutiful attention.

Martha is an artist and former resident of St. Cecilia's who lives independently in a run-down neighborhood. Rejecting conventional domesticity, she walks with a stick and wears leather splints on her hands. Her chaotic lifestyle and artistic dedication stand in sharp contrast to the polished homemaking of other women in the story.

Alice is the elderly former matron of St. Cecilia's Nursing and Convalescent Home. Now living alone in failing health, she provides Jean with old diaries and memories from the clinic. She firmly believes the clinic was a secure environment for women, insisting her patients were never around men.

Victor is Alice's late nephew, raised by his aunt after his mother died. He experienced severe mental illness from puberty onward and was kept quietly at St. Cecilia's. His historical presence at the women's clinic becomes a point of interest as Jean reviews past records.

Roy is the editor of the North Kent Echo and Jean's boss. He treats Jean with respect in a workplace that is not fully egalitarian, relying on her skills while managing the competitive pressures of local journalism.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones is a medical professional at Charing Cross Hospital who evaluates Gretchen's claims of parthenogenesis. He approaches the case with clinical curiosity, organizing blood tests and skin grafts to determine the scientific validity of the supposed virgin birth.

Dr. Bamber is a medical professional working alongside Dr. Lloyd-Jones at Charing Cross Hospital. He is heavily involved in the clinical tests designed to scientifically evaluate Gretchen's unusual pregnancy claim.

Winnie Melsom is an old friend of Mrs. Swinney who frequently visits their home. She provides crucial social interaction for the elderly woman and inadvertently gives Jean small windows of freedom to pursue her own interests outside the house.

Dorrie is Jean's sister who lives a busy life in Kenya with her husband and two children. Her geographic distance and contrasting lifestyle evoke both resentment and longing in Jean, who remains in England to care for their mother.

Aunt Edie is Howard's eccentric aunt who lives in a somewhat unkempt home with an apple orchard. Wealthy and independent, she wears cat-eye sunglasses over her regular glasses and freely critiques the strict perfectionism expected of women in society.

Kitty is a polio survivor who lives in an iron lung and is a former patient from St. Cecilia's. Deeply religious, she recounts experiencing a visitation from an angel during her time at the clinic, a detail that catches Jean's attention.

Frau Edel is Gretchen's mother, whose illness played a significant role in Gretchen's rapid decision to marry Howard. She originally took Howard in as a lodger, inadvertently setting up her daughter's future family.