Paul Michael, whose true surname is Fernsby, is the novel’s primary antagonist. He is a sophisticated and ruthless serial killer who illustrates the novel’s critique of How Society Fails to Protect the Vulnerable. Operating under the guise of a charitable handyman from the Help for Homes organization, Paul meticulously targets elderly, isolated women with dementia-related illnesses. His method is systematic: He identifies victims with few or no close relatives, insinuates himself into their lives through charm and feigned kindness, and gains their trust. He then employs tactics of control, such as isolating them from others, drugging them to induce psychotic episodes, and ultimately murdering them by staging “accidents” like falls down stairs. His marriage to his victims is a cold, legal maneuver that makes him the sole inheritor of their estates.

Paul’s motivations are rooted in his own deep childhood trauma. He reveals a past marked by his mother Sue’s cruelty, his father’s death by suicide and murder of his siblings, and his own subsequent institutionalization. This history fuels his mission to punish women he deems “liars.” He projects his mother’s perceived sins onto his victims, using their dementia-induced confessions as justification for his actions. The ritualistic removal of his victims’ tongues is a symbolic act that he claims silences their lies, but Connie correctly deduces that it is a desperate attempt to silence the voices of his victims that haunt him. This psychological compulsion, rather than simple financial greed, elevates him from a common predator to a more complex and disturbed killer. He tells Connie, “This has never been about the money. This is about the truth” (279), highlighting how he continues to believe in the righteousness of what he’s doing.

Paul is a foil to Connie. Both are products of childhood trauma who use deception to survive, and Paul even acknowledges their similarity. However, he lacks any semblance of the conscience or capacity for affection that Connie develops for Gwen. He is a master manipulator who enjoys psychological warfare, toying with Connie by revealing his knowledge of her deceptions, installing hidden cameras to violate her privacy, and ultimately killing her friend Walter to demonstrate his reach and cruelty. His intelligence, meticulous planning, and utter lack of remorse make him a formidable antagonist, and his attitude about his actions never changes. His eventual confession is not an act of remorse but one of supreme arrogance; he believes he is above judgment and chooses to control his own narrative even in defeat.

Gwen Wright is the deuteragonist and target of Connie and Pauls’ exploitation. She has vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and her character is defined by her vulnerability. Her memory and lucidity fluctuate, creating a state of confusion that both Connie and Paul manipulate for their own ends. She shifts between moments of sharp awareness, childlike neediness, and aggressive outbursts, a realistic portrayal of the disease’s progression. Her dependence on others makes her the focal point around which the predatory actions of the main characters revolve.

Gwen is not an entirely passive character. The narrative reveals that she possesses a hidden depth and a past that subverts the image of her as a helpless victim. The most significant twist concerning her character is the revelation that she was aware of Connie’s deception from early on but chose to play along, finding comfort and companionship in the fabricated mother-daughter relationship. This detail adds a layer of complexity to her character, suggesting a mutual, albeit unequal, form of use. Furthermore, her history with her cousin Meredith reveals that Gwen herself was once a manipulative woman who took what she wanted, specifically Meredith’s fiancé, Bill. This backstory adds a layer of irony to her fate, as she ultimately falls prey to the same kind of ruthless predation she once practiced.

Meredith Harper is introduced late in the novel as Gwen’s estranged cousin, a seemingly frail and lonely octogenarian living a quiet, isolated life. She initially is a narrative device, providing Connie with a potential link to Gwen’s past and a sympathetic ear. Connie sees in Meredith a reflection of what Gwen might have been and what she herself might become: alone and forgotten. This perception, however, proves to be a masterful illusion.

In the novel’s final twist, Meredith is revealed to be the ultimate victor, a quiet and patient predator who outmaneuvers both Connie and Paul. Motivated by a lifelong resentment against Gwen for stealing her fiancé and, by extension, her chance at a happy life, Meredith seizes the opportunity Connie unwittingly presents. She leverages Paul’s information about Connie’s fraud to secretly orchestrate the legal transfer of Gwen’s entire estate into her name, playing the part of the grieving, feeble relative while methodically liquidating all assets and disappearing to live out her days on a luxury cruise. Her final act of burning the photograph of her and Gwen symbolizes the severing of her past and her victory in a decades-long rivalry. Meredith’s story is a final, powerful statement on deception and survival, but her success is undercut by the narrative reveal that Paul’s partner is currently befriending her on the cruise, suggesting that she isn’t as safe as she thinks.