Georgina is the novel’s primary antagonist. A round and dynamic character, she embodies the facade of perfection, meticulously constructing an image of success, wealth, and domestic bliss that is symbolized by her immaculate Notting Hill town house. Beneath this surface, however, she is a deeply manipulative and ruthless individual who possesses many of the traits associated with psychopathy. She successfully conceals this nature for decades by falsifying the results of Lily’s “Wasp Trap” test, a pivotal act of deception.

Her core motivation is the preservation of her perfect life at any cost: Georgina’s character serves as a critique of class and privilege since she believes a perfect life is her “birthright” (307) and feels no remorse for the blackmail and violence she uses to achieve it. Most strikingly, Georgina is willing to kill her own child to protect her secrets and privilege. Georgina’s willingness to murder her daughter positions her outside the norm of typical human behavior and emotional response. Her downfall has an element of poetic justice since Georgina’s other child, Mia, is the one to reveal her secrets and ensure she pays for her crimes.

Dominic is a complex antagonist who also functions as a victim. In the narrative from 1999, he is introduced as an arrogant and cruel young man who deliberately provokes Will and drives a wedge between Sophie and Will. When he reappears in 2024, he is a man broken by two decades of imprisonment and psychological experimentation at the hands of his uncle, Professor Marlowe. Dominic patiently endures decades of isolation and exploitation at Thornwood and eventually becomes fixated on inheriting Marlowe’s wealth so that he can start a new life with Amber.

Dominic is undeniably callous and selfish, but he also has a craving for love and connection. Dominic’s affection for Amber and his expressions of regret about Eve’s death reveal that he does not embody most of the character traits associated with psychopathy. He is a morally ambiguous character; though he is responsible for Eve’s death and the terror inflicted on the guests, his actions are contextualized by the profound trauma he endured, making him a product of Marlowe’s and Georgina’s manipulations and exploitations.

Lily is the chief coder for Butterfly Net and the creator of the “Wasp Trap,” a psychometric test designed to identify psychopaths. Her defining traits are her fierce loyalty to her mentor, Professor Marlowe, and her unwavering faith in logic and science. This faith drives her to create the “Wasp Trap” test, which she views as a “gift” (199) to help Marlowe in his work. However, her creation becomes a destructive tool directly leading to Dominic being isolated and manipulated for decades. Ironically, Georgina is able to outwit the test because, as a true psychopath, she is willing to manipulate the test results.

Lily’s character arc is defined by guilt, since she spends decades concealing information about the deaths of Dominic and Eve, and her role in them. Lily is courageous in some ways: She tries to help Eve, and she justifies letting Dominic die because she fears he will go on to harm other women. However, she cannot face the consequences of her own actions, and she turns to Marlowe and lets him take control of the situation. Lily’s strong bond with Marlowe positions him as a parental surrogate whom she trusts completely and desperately wants to please. This experience robs Lily of her confidence, and it is not until after the events of the dinner party that she regains her desire to share her innovations with the world. At the end of the novel, Lily experiences a fresh start because she is no longer burdened by a heinous secret and she is willing to finally start a company and patent her lie-detector test.

Callum is a secondary antagonist and the enforcer of Dominic’s deadly “game.” Initially presented as a professional chef, he is revealed to be a violent criminal with a history in organized crime. His primary traits are his sadism, his enjoyment of chaos, and his pragmatic approach to violence. He is the architect of the “elimination game,” a method he claims was used to identify traitors in his former organization. Callum’s motivation appears primarily financial, as he expects a large cut of Dominic’s inheritance, but he also derives clear pleasure from the psychological torment he inflicts on the guests.

His backstory, in which he murdered his mother’s former employer, suggests a deep-seated class resentment, revealing why he takes particular pleasure in torturing wealthy characters. Callum dies when Georgina shoots him, an incident in which a privileged character inflicts harm on a working-class individual. While Georgina is acting in self-defense and trying to free herself and the others, Callum’s death implies that he was never able to break free from the social context that led him down a violent path.

Sophie serves as both the love interest for the protagonist, Will, and a moral and emotional anchor for the group. In 1999, she is characterized by her wit, her rebellious spirit, and her interest in mysticism, such as tarot cards, which puts her in direct contrast with the scientific rationalism of characters like Lily. Twenty-five years later, she retains her youthful spirit but is tinged with a sense of disappointment and inertia, “sleepwalking through life” (321) on a small inheritance. Throughout the dinner party, Sophie often attempts to de-escalate conflict and shows empathy for others, even as she participates in the grim “game.” Her relationship with Will is central to the novel’s emotional core. Their mutual misunderstanding in 1999 is a key example of how misperceptions can fester for decades. Her survival becomes a primary motivator for Will’s moments of bravery, and their eventual reconciliation provides a note of hope at the end of the narrative.

Theo is a supporting character whose ambition and desire for control contribute to his downfall. In 1999, he is the project manager for Butterfly Net, a “hard taskmaster” (110) determined to make the project a success. He begins a romantic relationship with Georgina during the summer of 1999, and this relationship is seemingly successful. Twenty-five years later, he is a wealthy investment banker whose life, like his house, is a facade of perfect success. Underneath, he is struggling with stress, drinking heavily, and dealing with the disappearance of his daughter.

Theo is a character who believes in his own authority, a trait that proves fatal. He dismisses the initial threat posed by Callum and Amber as “bullshit” (111), wrongly assuming it is a simple burglary. This arrogant miscalculation prevents the group from taking the threat seriously, costs them valuable time, and directly leads to his death when he becomes the first victim of the elimination game. Theo’s character does not change or evolve but subsequent revelations shift how he is positioned: Theo was either completely manipulated by his wife’s machinations, or he ignored whatever hints that may have surfaced during their marriage.

Rohan is a supporting character who represents the unfulfilled ambitions of the dot-com era. From the beginning, his primary motivation is the acquisition of wealth. In 1999, he is transparent about his desire for money, hoping his stock options will make him rich. Twenty-five years later, he is a man defined by failure and resentment. He arrives at the dinner party hoping to pitch an investment to the more financially successful Theo. During the “game,” Rohan’s actions are often driven by self-preservation, but his character arc is one of redemption. The traumatic events of the night force him to reassess his priorities, leading him to reject a stolen diamond ring and conclude that his family is more important than his “obsession with money” (321). While characters like Theo and Georgina are presented as irredeemable and therefore do not escape the dinner party, Rohan survives and is given a second chance.

Marlowe is the group’s former mentor and the novel’s shadow antagonist whose actions set the entire plot in motion. A professor of psychology, he is the charismatic and manipulative leader of the Butterfly Net project. His life’s work is defined by an obsession with psychopathy, heightened by the murder of his wife, Barbara. This obsession drives him to unethical experiments, first at Fredericks University and later at Thornwood. He is the central figure behind the novel’s core secrets, covering up Eve’s murder to secure Dominic as a “live lab rat” (257) for his twisted, decades-long experiment. He uses his authority and knowledge to manipulate and abuse those around him for his own scientific ambitions.