| 1 | Noemi | Taboada | A young socialite. Protagonist. |
| | Laura | Quezada | Noemi's rival in the costume contest. |
| | Hugo | Duarte | Noemi's lover. |
| | Pedro | Infante | A Mexican singer. |
| | Leocadio | Taboada | Noemi's father. |
| | Catalina | Taboada | Noemi's cousin. |
| | Virgil | Doyle | Catalina's husband. |
| 2 | Howard | Doyle | Virgil's father. |
| | Francis | Doyle | Virgil's cousin. |
| | Florence | Doyle | Howard's niece. Francis's mother. |
| | Charles | | One of Doyle's staff members. |
| 3 | Vasoncelos | | Noemi's countrymen. |
| | Arthur | Cummins | The Doyles's doctor. |
| | Kublai | Khan | A character in one of Catalina's stories. |
| 4 | Agnes | | Francis's great-aunt. Deceased. |
| 5 | Marta | Duval | The local healer. |
| | Brigida | | Noemi's aunt. |
| 6 | Julio Eusebio | Camarillo | The doctor Noemi asked for help. |
| | Lizzie | | One of the maids. |
| | Miss | Ruth | Howard's daughter. |
| | Michael | | Ruth's cousin and fiancé. |
| | Richard | | Florence's husband. |
| 7 | Alice | Doyle | Howard's 2nd wife. Agnes's little sister. |
| 8 | Horacio | Quiroga | An author. |
| 10 | Mary | | One of Doyle's servants. |
| | Dorothy | | Francis's grandmother. |
| | Leland | | Francis's grandfather. Howard's brother. |
| 12 | Aurelio | | A miner. The strike leader. |
| | Benito | | Aurelio's nephew. Ruth's lover. |
| 15 | Dr. | Corona | Julio's acquaintance. |
| 16 | Alexandra | David-Neel | An author. |
| | J.B. | Rhine | A Duke professor who's studying parapsychology. |
