Eric is a country doctor in rural Somerset who relocated from London seeking a quieter existence. Despite his professional competence and respected status, he feels confined by the predictability of his middle-class life. He attempts to manage his existential dissatisfaction through rigid routines and an ongoing clandestine affair with a wealthy local woman.

Irene is Eric's pregnant wife, struggling with the isolation of rural living and the confines of domestic expectations. Finding little meaningful occupation in her daily routine, she seeks connection through cookbooks, magazines sent from America, and planning social events. She longs for genuine intimacy in her increasingly distant marriage.

Bill is a young, idealistic farmer who impulsively purchased Water Farm after dropping out of his university studies. He is driven by a desire to forge an honest life and escape the morally compromised legacy of his wealthy immigrant father. However, his lack of agricultural experience leaves him overwhelmed by daily challenges and emotionally disconnected from his wife.

Rita is Bill's pregnant wife, a former temp worker and club dancer who feels deeply isolated on the farm. She uses science fiction books and performative personas to cope with her traumatic past and worsening auditory hallucinations. Her burgeoning friendship with her neighbor offers her a rare emotional sanctuary from her fears.

Alison is the wealthy, sophisticated, and bored wife of a tobacco executive. She engages in an affair with the local doctor as an antidote to her own existential boredom. She treats the relationship like a high-stakes game, demonstrating a reckless disregard for the potential consequences to either marriage.

Martin is Rita's father and a patient at the local psychiatric hospital. As a former war photographer who documented the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, his mental stability was permanently shattered by the trauma he witnessed. His institutionalization serves as a constant source of anxiety for his daughter.

Gabby is Eric's senior medical partner and a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. He advocates for the humane use of pain medication for terminally ill patients, providing a compassionate foil to Eric's more clinical approach.

József is Bill's estranged father, a Jewish-Hungarian immigrant who built a lucrative property empire in London. He views his tenants with disdain and considers his son's farming venture a naive pursuit, representing the morally compromised world Bill desperately tries to escape.

Charlie is Bill's brother, who works for their father's property business in London. He drives a flashy purple Jaguar and defends their father's exploitative rental practices, fully embracing the family legacy that Bill rejects.

Frank is Alison's husband, an executive who is often absent but fiercely protective of his territory. He represents the wealthy, upper-class lifestyle his wife enjoys.

Veronica is Irene's politically engaged, academic sister living in the United States. She serves as a symbol of modern, independent womanhood for Irene, regularly sending her American magazines and providing emotional support via long-distance calls.

Tessa is Irene's friend from London who visits the cottage for the holidays. She struggles with the emotional toll of carrying on an affair with a married playwright, bringing metropolitan drama to the quiet rural setting.

David is a married playwright from London carrying on an affair with Tessa. He romantically idealizes rural life and critiques capitalism during social gatherings, often masking his own guilt.

Gloria is Rita's friend and former colleague from her days working at the Pow-Wow Club in Bristol. She offers Rita a sense of safety, a link to her past, and a model of someone striving for a better future through night school.

Byron is Gloria's brother, who works as a projectionist at a cinema in Bristol. He provides a friendly, welcoming face for Rita during her visits to the city.

Eugene is Rita's former employer and ex-lover at the Pow-Wow Club in Bristol. His past involvement with Rita led to a traumatic event that continues to haunt her present life.

Annie is Eugene's wife, fiercely protective of her marriage and her husband's business. She holds deep resentment toward Rita for her past involvement with Eugene.

Stephen is a 19-year-old psychiatric patient who dies by suicide early in the novel. His profound disillusionment with humanity's addiction to violence sets off a professional and moral crisis for Dr. Parry.

Ian is a night nurse at the psychiatric hospital where Martin Lee and Stephen Storey are patients. He works in an environment tasked with housing the society's most vulnerable individuals.

Miss Watkins is the puritanical housemother at a school for children who are blind. She provides shelter during the blizzard but holds rigid, moralistic views regarding duty, expectation, and motherhood.

Harrison is the local bank manager who reviews Bill's ambitious plan to convert an old hangar into a beef cattle operation. He insists Bill find a co-investor, pointing him back toward his wealthy father.

Peter is a terminally ill patient living in the rural community. He receives palliative care from Eric Parry, demonstrating the doctor's capacity for clinical competence.

Mr. Earle is the elderly former owner of Water Farm. He lives in a freezing room and relies on the assistance of the local doctor and shopkeeper to manage his basic needs.

Mrs. Tallis is a widowed schoolmistress recovering from illness. She represents the standard, routine patients that make up Dr. Parry's rural medical practice.

Tony is the manager of the local cinema where Rita frequently seeks refuge. He is friendly and familiar with Rita's habits, providing a welcoming environment away from the farm.