| 1 | | | Wednesday, 9 April 1919 |
| | Sam | Wyndham | Detective Inspector Captain in the Indian Police Force, newly arrived in Calcutta from England, World War I veteran, narrator |
| | Sub-Inspector | Digby | Officer in the Imperial Police Force, reports to Wyndham |
| | Alexander | MacAuley | Murder victim, high-ranking aide ("fixer") to the Lt. Governor |
| | | | Writers' Building: Administrative Seat of Government for Bengal |
| | Surendranath | Bannerjee | Sergeant on the IPF, aka Surrender-Not |
| | Mrs. | Bose | Owner of the brothel |
| | Ratan | | Doorman at the brothel |
| | Meena | | Mrs. Bose's maid |
| | Saraswati | | Prostitute at the brothel |
| | Lakshmi | | Prostitute at the brothel |
| | Devi | | Prostitute at the brothel |
| | Sita | | Prostitute at the brothel |
| | Lord Charles | Taggart | Commissioner of the Police Force, a major in the army in WWI Wyndham's boss |
| | Mohandas | Gandhi | Indian politician & activist for Indian independence |
| 2 | | Furlow | Murdered shopkeeper in the East End of London |
| | Rosie | | Assistant at Furlow's shop |
| | Alfred & Albert | Stratford | Toughs under suspicion for Furlow's murder |
| | Sarah | | School mistress, Wyndham's wife, died in the flu virus of 1918 while Sam was recovering from a war injury |
| | Charlie | | Sam's half-brother, killed in WWI in 1917 |
| 3 | | Daniels | Taggart's assistant |
| 4 | Annie | Grant | MacAuley's secretary |
| | James | Buchan | A very wealthy jute & rubber merchant, Scottish, friend of MacAuley |
| | Reverend | Gunn | Calvinist preacher, friend of MacAuley |
| | Sir Godfrey | Soames | Head of the Landowners' Association |
| | Colonel & Mrs. | Tebbit | Owners of Royal Belvedere Guest House where Wyndham lodges |
| | | Byrne | Red-headed Irish textile salesman also lodging at the Belvedere |
| | | Peters | A lawyer in Calcutta for a case, also lodging at the Belvedere |
| 5 | | Salman | Rickshaw puller |
| 6 | | | Thursday, 10 April, 1919 |
| 7 | Albert | Perkins | Railway conductor, senior guard |
| | | Evans | Train driver |
| | Hiren | Pal | Murder victim on the train |
| | Eric | | Coal man on the train |
| 9 | Sandesh | | MacAuley's manservant |
| | | Stevens | #2 aide to the Lt. Governor |
| 10 | Albert | | Owner/maitre'd of the Glamorgan Hotel restaurant |
| 11 | Dr. | Lamb | Pathologist |
| 14 | Vikram | | Digby's snitch |
| | Amarnath | Dutta | Radical host of a revolutionists' meeting the night MacAuley was murdered |
| | Benoy | Sen | Agitator for Indian independence, leader of Jugantor |
| 16 | | | Friday, 11 April, 1919 |
| 17 | Colonel | Dawson | Commander of Section H (secret police) |
| | Marjorie | Braithwaite | Assistant to Dawson |
| 18 | Sir Evelyn | Crisp | Managing Director of the Bengal & Burma Banking Corp. |
| 20 | Dr. | Rao | Physician who tended to Wyndham's gunshot wound |
| | Dr. | Bird | Physician who treated Sen's injuries |
| 21 | | | Saturday, 12 April, 1919 |
| 24 | | | Sunday, 13 April, 1919 |
| 25 | Isobel | | MacAuley's wife, died of typhus |
| 26 | Horace | Meek | New lodger at the Belvedere |
| 27 | | | Monday, 14 April, 1919 |
| 33 | | | Thursday, 15 April, 1919 |
| | | Remnant | Captain of a police launch |
| | Superintendent | MacLean | Police officer in Serampore |
| 34 | Das | | Fan (punkah) operator at Mrs. Bose's house |
| | Anjali | | Devi's real name |
| | Parvati | | One of Mrs. Bose's girls who became pregnant & died from a botched abortion |
