Therese is a 19-year-old aspiring set designer currently working in the toy department at Frankenberg's in New York City. She feels alienated and unfulfilled by both her retail job and her relationship with her boyfriend, Richard. Deeply sensitive and observant, she experiences an immediate, consuming attraction when she meets a wealthy customer named Carol Aird.

Carol is a wealthy, graceful woman in her thirties who radiates a captivating aura. She is currently navigating a difficult separation from her husband, Harge, while trying to maintain a relationship with her young daughter. Worldly and assertive, she introduces Therese to new experiences while dealing with the harsh societal prejudices of the 1950s.

Richard is a young painter and former Navy man who lives with his traditional Russian family in Brooklyn. He is Therese's boyfriend and eagerly wants to marry her and take her to Europe, though he fails to see how deeply dissatisfied she is with their intimacy. His conventional mindset makes him incapable of understanding Therese's true desires, pushing him to become overbearing when she pulls away.

Harge is Carol's soon-to-be ex-husband who runs a successful real estate investment firm. Heavily built and deeply entrenched in a conventional country-club lifestyle, he represents the societal norms that Carol rejects. Unable to gracefully accept the end of their marriage, he uses his resources and societal privilege to try to force Carol back under his control.

Abby is an entomologist and Carol's childhood friend from New Jersey. The two share a complex history that includes a past romantic relationship and a brief period running a furniture store together. She remains a fiercely loyal ally to Carol, providing logistical and emotional support during the divorce.

Ruby is an older, despondent coworker of Therese's who previously owned a dress shop in Queens before poor health forced her to give it up. She lives in an unclean room in a brownstone, presenting a bleak vision of an isolated future that unsettles Therese, though the two maintain an awkward correspondence.

Phil is a theater actor and an acquaintance of Richard's. He helps connect Therese with a valuable opportunity to design sets for a three-act comedy called Small Rain, though he later walks out on the production in frustration.

Dannie is Phil's brother and a physicist living in the West Village. Unlike Richard, Dannie shares a deeper philosophical rapport with Therese, offering her insightful perspectives on avoiding the hoarding of people and experiences.

Rindy is Carol and Harge's young daughter, estimated by Therese to be between six and eight years old. She serves as the central point of leverage in her parents' increasingly bitter divorce and custody battle.

Florence is the Irish maid employed at Carol's New Jersey home. Therese harbors suspicions about her loyalties, sensing that Florence might be passing information to Harge during the divorce proceedings.

A private investigator hired to follow Carol and Therese during their cross-country road trip. He maintains a quiet, persistent presence, tracking their movements from town to town under the guise of simply performing his professional duties for Harge.