| Miriam | Abraham | George's wife. |
| Woizero | Almaz | Leithead's patient. |
| Dr. | Aziz | Abraham Verghese's second-year resident as an intern. |
| Amitabh | Bachchan | An Indian film actor. |
| Jim | Bakker | American televangelist, entrepreneur, and convicted fraudster. |
| Seth | Barker | The second veteran with AIDS. |
| Dr. | Bell | An internist. |
| Claire | Bellamy | A nurse. |
| Steve | Berk | An infectious diseases specialist. |
| William | Blake | An English poet, painter, and printmaker. |
| Daniel | Boone | American pioneer, explorer, woodsman, and frontiersman. |
| Tony | Cappellucci | Abraham Verghese's first gay patient. |
| Dale | Carnegie | American writer and lecturer. |
| Hobart | Carter | Abraham's acquaintanc. |
| Mr. | Carter | Hobart's father. |
| Mrs. | Carter | Hobart's mother. |
| Harry M. | Caudill | American author, historian, lawyer, legislator, and environmentalist. |
| Rajani | Chacko | An account executive working for a leading advertising agency. |
| Brian | Clark | Gordon's new name. |
| David | Crockett | The district attorney. |
| Scotty | Daws | Abraham's patient. |
| Lorraine | Day | A US author, former orthopedic trauma surgeon. |
| Alfred | de Musset | A French dramatist, poet, and novelist. |
| John | Doe | An old man with a stroke, diabetes and pneumonia. |
| Gaëtan | Dugas | Canadian flight attendant and a relatively early HIV patient. |
| Dr. | Dunkelberger | An obstetrician. |
| David | Durack | The Chief of Infectious Diseases at Duke University. |
| Matthew | Elliot | One of Will's friends. |
| Max | Essex | A prof. of Health Sciences in the Dept. of Immunology at Harvard. |
| Jerry | Falwell Jr. | American attorney, former academic administrator. |
| Patrick | Ferguson | Scottish officer in the British Army. |
| Betty | Franzus | Abraham's research technician. |
| Sigmund | Freud | Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. |
| Robert Charles | Gallo | American physician-scientist. |
| Mahatma | Gandhi | An Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist. |
| Fred | Goodson | One of Abraham Verghese's patients. |
| Mrs. | Granger | Petie's mother. |
| Petie | Granger | Abraham's new patient. |
| Bryant | Gumbel | The young schoolteacher. |
| Dr. | H. | The neurosurgeon, |
| Edward | Harless | One of Abraham's acaquaintances, |
| Kitty | Hawk | One of Fred's friends. |
| B. J. | Hilton | A manager at a well-known restaurant. |
| Mr. | Hilton | B.J.'s father. |
| Luther | Hines | One of Abraham's patients. |
| Chuck | Hoover | Will's best friend. |
| Rock | Hudson | American actor. |
| Dr. | J. | A dentist. |
| Michael | Jackson | American singer-songwriter. |
| Otis | Jackson | One of Abraham Verghese's patients. |
| Stonewall | Jackson | A professor in physics. |
| Sally | Jameson | A 16th year-old girl who was diagnosed with leukemia. |
| Elton | John | An English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. |
| Bess | Johnson | Will's wife. |
| Cindy | Johnson | A girl with cystic fibrosis. |
| William | Johnson | A mining engineer. Aka: Will. |
| A. J. | Jones | Owner of a funeral home. Aka: Doochie. |
| Dimple | Kapadia | An Indian actress. |
| Bobby | Keller | One of Abraham's patients. |
| Soren | Kierkegaard | Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and author. |
| Elisabeth | Kübler-Ross | American-Swiss psychiatrist. |
| Milan | Kundera | A Czech writer. |
| Bettie | Lee | Fred's sister. |
| Charles | Leithead | A professor of medicine at the Princess Tsahai Hospital. |
| Stuart | Levitz | Abraham's friend and former tennis buddy. |
| Virginia | Longtree | A retired school nurse. |
| Lata | Mangeshkar | An Indian playback singer and music director. |
| Thomas | Mann | German novelist, short story writer. |
| Robert | Mapplethorpe | American photographer. |
| Zachariah | Mathen | Abraham's fellow intern. |
| Ed | Maupin | One of Abraham's patients. |
| William | McCabe | The Chief of Infectious Diseases at Boston City Hospital. |
| A. C. | McCaffey | A geography teacher. |
| Sue | McCoy | Abraham's surgical counterpart. |
| Clyde Odum | McCray | Vickie's husband. |
| Vickie | McCray | Abraham's acquaintance. |
| Mr. | McGregor | A patient in bed one. |
| Jay | Mehta | Abraham's friend. |
| Neil | Miller | American journalist and nonfiction writer. |
| Luc Antoine | Montagnier | A French Virologist. |
| Bill | Mulrooney | One of Abraham's acquaintances. |
| Benito | Mussolini | Former Prime Minister of Italy. |
| V. S. | Naipaul | Trinidad and Tobago-born British writer of works of fiction. |
| Ethan | Nidiffer | Dr. J.'s patient. |
| Friedrich | Nietzsche | German philosopher, essayist, and cultural critic. |
| Tracey | Oliver | A cheerleader. |
| Lillian | Paez | A socialite. Abraham's acquaintance. |
| Dr. | Patel | A cardiologist. |
| Minnie | Pearl | American country comedian. |
| Troy | Perry | A Pentecostal minister. |
| Sharon | Phillips | An occupational health nurse. |
| Ruby | Presnell | Sabatha's classmate. |
| Sarah | Presnell | A general internist. |
| Mohammed | Rafi | An Indian playback singer. |
| Ronald | Reagan | 40th U.S. President. |
| Jimmy | Roach | One of Abraham's patients. Aka: J.R. |
| Norman | Rockwell | American painter and illustrator. |
| Merle | Sande | An internationally known AIDS expert. |
| Norman | Sanger | Abraham's patient with hemophilia and AIDS. |
| Felix | Sarubbi | A staff doctors in infectious disease. |
| Haile | Selassie | Former Emperor of Ethiopia. |
| Olivia | Sells | The director of the local Red Cross. |
| John | Sevier | American soldier, frontiersman, and politician. |
| William | Shakespeare | English playwright, poet, and actor. |
| Randy | Shilts | American journalist and author. |
| Elaine | Shuman | Coordinator of a group of medical students and psychologists. |
| Arthur | Simpson | The first veteran with AIDS. |
| Carolyn | Sliger | Worked at the Health Department. |
| Brian | Smith | A pulmonary physician. |
| Tom | Starzl | A surgeon. |
| Eloise | Stokes | A baby sitter. |
| Jimmy | Swaggart | American Pentecostal evangelist.. |
| Mrs. | T | Abraham's patient. |
| Mrs. | T. | Abraham's patient. |
| Rodney | Tester | Dr. K's patient. |
| Louise | Tipton | Dr. Patel's patient. |
| Mr. | Tobias | A man who had a heart attack. |
| Cameron | Tolliver | One of Abraham's patients. |
| Ludwig | Traube | A German physician and co-founder of the experimental pathology. |
| Mr. | Trivett | A patient with chronic lung disease. |
| Ernest | Tubb | American singer-songwriter. |
| Frankie | Valli | American singer. |
| Abraham | Verghese | An infectious disease physician and a writer. Aka: Abe. |
| George | Verghese | Abraham's father. |
| Jacob George | Verghese | Abraham and Rajani's second son. |
| Jeff | Viner | A former biker who had been paraplegic. |
| Essie | Vines | A laboratory technician. |
| Dr. | W | An astute neurologist. |
| Raquel | Welch | American actress and singer. |
| Jonathan | Winters | American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. |
| George | Wiseman | Essie's acquaintance. |
| William | Withering | The discoverer of digitalis. |
| Allen | | Abraham's close friend. |
| Anand | | Abraham's oncologist friend. |
| Andrew | | Grace's husband. |
| Arsalon | | Abraham's fellow students. |
| Brij | | Abraham's friend. |
| Bruce | | Gordon's friend. |
| Bud | | One of the infection control nurses. |
| Carol | | A nurse. |
| Claire | | Norman's fiance. |
| Claire | | Norman's wife. |
| Clara | | The nursing supervisor. |
| Claudia | | Allen's wife. |
| Clyde Junior | | Vickie's son. |
| Dale | | Abraham's acquaintance. |
| Danielle | | Vickie's daughter. |
| Darryl | | A motorcycle mechanic. |
| Desmond | | Scotty's lover. |
| Donny | | One of the rescue squad people. |
| Doyle | | A third-year medical student. |
| Earl | | Abraham's friend. |
| Earl | | Abraham's tennis buddy. |
| Eleanor | | One of the nurses at Johnson City Medical Center. |
| Gordon | | Essie's brother. |
| Grace | | One of Vickie's cousins. |
| Gus | | Allen's acquaintance. |
| Herman | | One of Essie's brothers. |
| J. D. | | A part time security guard. |
| Jack | | Essie's friend. |
| Jacko | | One of Abraham's patients. |
| Jake | | Hobart's brother. |
| James | | A patient with AIDS. |
| Jennie | | The ICU ward clerk. |
| Jewell | | A family friend of Clyde's folks. |
| John 1 | | A flight attendant. |
| John 2 | | Lee Ann's husband. |
| Joy | | One of Essie's daughters. |
| Joyce | | Abraham's secretary at the VA. |
| Karen | | One of the infection control nurses. |
| Lakshmi | | The goddess of wealth. |
| Larry | | Sharon's husband. |
| Lee Ann | | Bess' daughter. |
| Madhu | | Abraham's friend. |
| Maggie | | A buxom nurse. |
| Mary | | One of the nurses at Johnson City Medical Center. |
| Matthew | | Essie's uncle. |
| Meena | | Jay's wife. |
| Mukesh | | An Indian playback singer. |
| Nero | | The fifth Roman emperor. |
| O'Dwyer | | A physician who invented the intubation. |
| Osler | | The dean of American medicine. |
| Raleigh | | Trevor's friend. |
| Ray | | A pulmonary physician. |
| Rebecca | | Will Jr.'s wife. |
| Red | | One of Abraham's acquaintances. |
| Reji | | Abraham's brother. |
| Robert Lee | | One of Essie's brothers. |
| Sabatha | | One of Essie's daughters. |
| Solomon | | The drummer. |
| Steven | | Abraham's son. |
| Terese | | Miriam's aunt. |
| Thomas | | Miriam's uncle. |
| Tom | | Abraham's fellow students. |
| Trevor | | Abraham's acquaintance. |
| Trudie | | A cocker spaniel. |
| Will Jr. | | Will Sr. and Bess' son. |
