Paul is a young boy growing up in an outwardly wealthy but deeply anxious household. Possessing intense blue eyes, he is highly sensitive to the house's constant whispers demanding more money. Driven by a desperate need to win his mother's affection and validate her complaints, he claims that God has told him he is a lucky person. He furiously rides his nursery rocking horse to achieve a trance-like state that he believes will lead him to this luck.

The Mother is a deeply dissatisfied woman who projects an image of wealth and superiority despite her husband's lack of financial success. She harbors a hard emotional barrier at the center of her heart, rendering her unable to genuinely love her children. Treating money and luck as identical concepts, she confides her disappointments to her young son. Her insatiable desire for luxury creates a haunting, oppressive atmosphere in the family home.

Uncle Oscar is Paul's wealthy relative who treats money and gambling as a mildly amusing game. He initially views Paul's claims about horse racing with condescension but becomes highly interested when he realizes the boy is wagering serious amounts of money. Astute and opportunistic, he decides to test the waters by joining Paul's betting ventures.

Bassett is the family's trustworthy gardener and Paul's confidant. Knowing his place within the household's strict class hierarchy, he treats his employers with absolute deference. Despite the vast age difference, he treats Paul as an equal partner in their ventures, holding a quiet, almost religious awe for the boy's unusual intuition.

Joan is Paul's sister and one of the three children living in the deeply anxious household. Like her siblings, she hears the unspoken whispers demanding more money echoing through the home. She communicates her fears through anxious glances and finds herself intimidated by her brother's intense, wild-eyed behavior in the nursery.

The Father is an outwardly handsome but professionally unsuccessful man who fails to meet his wife's extravagant financial expectations. Dismissed by his wife as inherently unlucky, he remains a distant and shadowy presence in the household. His inability to provide the luxury his wife demands creates the central void in the family dynamic.