| | | | Part 1 |
| 1 | Ellis | Reed | Protagonist. |
| 2 | Lillian | Palmer | Mr. Trimble's secretary. Aka: Lily. |
| | Howard | Trimble | Lily's boss. Editor-in-chief of Philadelphia Examiner. |
| 3 | Mrs. | Trimble | Howard's wife. |
| | Mr. | Baylor | A society editor at Philadelphia Examiner. |
| | Clayton | Brauer | A top crime reporter at Philadelphia Examiner. |
| 5 | Stick | | A political reporter at Philadelphia Examiner. |
| | Mr. | Klausen | A landowner. |
| 6 | Mr. | Schiller | A columnist at Philadelphia Examiner. |
| 7 | Ruby | Dillard | The girl who was sold by her mother. |
| | Calvin | Dillard | Ruby's brother. |
| | Geraldine | Dillard | Ruby and Calvin's mother. Aka: Geri. |
| 8 | Orville | Wright | A famous inventor. |
| | Mickey | Duffy | Philadelphia's
prohibition gangster. |
| 9 | Myrna | Reed | Ellis's mother. |
| 10 | Samuel | Palmer | Lily's son. |
| 11 | Stanley | Walker | The city editor at the Tribune. Ellis's new boss. |
| | Percy | Tate | Mr. Walker's assistant. |
| | Pete | Vernon | Ellis's new workmate. Aka: Dutch. |
| | Walter | Gale | A man who works at the train depot. Aka: Walt. |
| | | | Part 2 |
| 16 | Mr. | Wilson | The Palmer's long-time patron. |
| 18 | Mrs. | Stanton | Ruby's former teacher. |
| | Oliver | | Mrs. Stanton's student. |
| 19 | Blanche | | The train ticket cashier. |
| 20 | Dr. | Berkins | Geraldine's doctor. |
| 21 | Alfred | Millstone | A banker from Long Beach. The man who bought Ruby. |
| 24 | Miss | Westin | Geraldine's landlady. |
| | Doc | Summers | Geraldine's doctor. |
| 26 | Sylvia | Millstone | Alfred's wife. |
| | Claire | | The Millstone's maid. |
| 27 | Victoria Agnes | Millstone | The Millstone's late daughter. |
| 28 | Dr. | Mannis | The town's doctor. |
| 29 | Giovanni | Trevino | Owner of a super club. Aka: Max. |
| | | | Black Hand - A group known for extortion of small businesses. |
| 33 | Governor | Roosevelt | The town's Governor. |
| 34 | Frederick | Lowell | The director at Warren County Home for children. |
| | Mildred | | Mr. Lowell's assistant. |
| | Bob | Gantry | Ada's wife. The man who adopted Calvin. |
| | Ada | Gantry | Bob's wife. |
