Sam is a 30-year-old economics teacher who wears wire-rimmed glasses and an Adam Smith tie. He approaches his subject from a real-world perspective, preferring rhetorical examples over mathematical models to illustrate free-market capitalism. Deeply passionate about his beliefs, he frequently defends his views even when they make his peers uncomfortable.

Laura is a 24-year-old Yale graduate beginning her first year as an English teacher. She encourages her students to explore the power of language in 19th-century British literature. Identifying as an activist, she intends to eventually go to law school to fight for fairness and oversight in society.

Charles is the 50-year-old chief executive officer of the HealthNet corporation. He drives fast cars, despises regulatory lawyers, and prioritizes corporate profits over the health and safety of workers and consumers. His ruthless pursuit of the bottom line actively endangers the lives of those connected to his pharmaceutical products.

Erica is the red-haired director of the Office of Corporate Responsibility. She is a dedicated government employee determined to expose corporate corruption at the highest levels. Operating an egalitarian office, she relies on collaboration and works late into the night analyzing data to build her case against HealthNet.

George is the manager of the HealthNet plant in Matalon, Ohio. He is a thoughtful, dedicated employee who loves his work driving a forklift and managing the warehouse floor. Despite his pride in his logistical skills, he faces a profound moral crisis over his company's choice to move jobs across the border to avoid safety regulations.

Amy is a 17-year-old senior taking an elective economics class at the Edwards School. As the daughter of a prominent progressive senator, her enthusiastic embrace of free-market principles puts her at odds with her family's politics. She admires her teacher deeply and attempts to help him handle his troubles with the school administration.

Andrew is Laura's brother and an outspoken critic of free-market economics. He firmly believes in corporate responsibility and governmental intervention, practicing his own specific form of charity by handing out vegetable juice instead of cash to panhandlers.

Fast Eddie is an unhoused man who is a regular fixture near the local train station. His presence serves as a real-world catalyst for early philosophical arguments about the nature of altruism and self-interest.

Rob is the public relations director for HealthNet. He handles the delicate task of spinning the company's controversial decisions to maintain a positive corporate image, actively covering up poor living conditions at foreign facilities.

Known as "Cerberus" around the office, Heather is a receptionist at HealthNet. Disgusted by her employer's unethical behavior, she takes a significant personal risk to leak confidential clinical trial data to government investigators.

Marshall is an investigator and protégé at the Office of Corporate Responsibility. He diligently tracks the business practices of major pharmaceutical companies while managing the details of building a federal case.

Howard is the head of Research and Development at HealthNet. He is deeply nervous about the dangers of the drug Prostol, finding himself intimidated into silence by executive demands for profitable success.

Ellen is an engineer for Exxon-Mobile and a grounding force for her family. She offers crucial advice about staying true to one's nature, encouraging her brother to continue swimming against the current of popular opinion.

Dr. Levine works at the Food and Drug Administration. He initially helps verify leaked medical documents but eventually refuses to testify, fearing the consequences of cross-agency involvement.

Principal Harkin runs the Edwards School. He oversees the investigation into controversial teaching methods following complaints of political bias, representing the institutional resistance to unconventional educational approaches.

Senator Hunt is a prominent progressive politician and a member of the Edwards School board. He strongly objects to capitalist worldviews being presented to students and leverages his power to push for administrative action.

Alice is a photographer assigned to document a newly constructed production plant. She attempts to capture the harsh reality of the workers' lives, quietly hiding a second roll of film after facing corporate censorship.

Mrs. Sutherland remains in Ohio with her children while her husband oversees new corporate operations. She bears the brunt of the town's anger over the plant closure while serving as her husband's primary emotional anchor.

Mrs. Silver is Laura's mother, who opens her home to her daughter's colleagues. She attempts to maintain a polite and hospitable environment despite the fierce political debates breaking out at her dining table.

Mr. Silver is Laura's father, residing in a Georgetown townhouse. He offers drinks to arriving guests and observes the escalating ideological arguments that consume his family's dinner party.