| 1 | Fran (Frances) | Egan | 42 yr old head lecturer at School of Management, Sunbury Campus of a Melbourne university. Lives on small farm near Newstead. |
| | Carlos | Skander | Dean of Studies. |
| | Penny | | Fran's best friend. |
| | Margie | Green | Fran's teenage daughter. |
| | Tommy (Little) | Green | Fran's young son. |
| | Tom (Thomas) | Green | Fran's husband. |
| | Michael (Professor) | Rowland | Lecturer at Bendigo Campus of La Trobe University. |
| | Diedre | Macklen | Wife of Michael Rowland. |
| | Joseph | Bayer | Elderly (60's), hand man/gardener at old mental hospital which is now the Sunbury Campus. |
| | Eric | Thornton | Lecturer at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Sanjeev | | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Jargal (Professor) | Batu | Fran's affair in Hefei, China. |
| | Pheobe | Lyons | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Allison | Brown | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Cynthia | Cousins | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Seda | Tateossian | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Jenny | | Joseph's little white terrier (dog). |
| | Eleni | Bayer | Joseph's dying wife. Previous inmate of the lunatic asylum which was later renamed Caloola Mental Hospital. |
| | Mr | Cool | Head gardener who adopted Joseph. Scottish immigrant from Scotland. |
| | Valerie | Sommers | 31 yr old privileged patient at Caloola Mental Hospital. |
| | William (Dr) | Vincent-Sinclair | Caloola's Chief psychiatrist and friend of Sir Arthur Sommers. |
| | Arthur (Honourable Sir) | Sommers | Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. |
| | Jesse | McDonald | An older friend/lover of Valerie. Committed suicide. |
| 2 | Ina | Turner | Fran's elderly
neighbor, lives alone with dog, goats and orchard. |
| | Marion (Sister) | | Told Valerie of Jesse's suicide. |
| | Jim | Turner | Deceased husband of Ina. |
| | Claire | Pollard | Colleague at Sunbury Campus. |
| | Stella | Colvin | Psychologist. |
| | Sally | | Director's dog. |
| | Phillipa | Sommers | Sister of Arthur, aunt to Valerie. |
| 3 | Toby | | Valerie's dog. |
| | Demeter | | Valerie's dog. |
| | Saira | | Skaander's secretary. |
| | Jospehine | Muntz-Adams | Portrait painter of Valerie Sommers |
| | Nadia | Petrovic | Sunbury Campus facilities manager. |
| | Mr | Stone | Supervisor at Caloola Mental Hospital. |
| | William | | Margie's English boyfriend. |
| 4 | Rob | Shears | Builder. |
