Content Warning: This section references the death of a child and sexual assault.

Grace Adams is the novel’s protagonist. In the narrative present, Grace is 45 years old and has recently begun menopause, so descriptions of her physical discomfort pervade the narrative. This discomfort is merely one way in which Grace experiences Aging as a Form of Loss. Her teenage daughter’s youth and beauty are constant reminders that Grace is getting older and losing her cultural currency. She is self-conscious about her appearance, disgusted by “the fleshy overhang that encircles her waist” and “her hair threaded with gray above her ears” (131), but she feels too discouraged to amend it.

Grace is married to Ben Kerr. In the narrative present, the two are separated, the death of their daughter Bea having fractured their relationship. Because Grace was watching Bea play at the time of her death, she blames herself and has yet to heal from her loss. The frequent narrative shifts between the past and present suggest Grace’s struggle to move beyond the past. An avoidant and defensive character, Grace has tried to compartmentalize her sorrow, grief, and guilt.