A reporter for an English-speaking newspaper in Paris, Julia serves as the main protagonist for the novel. The novel is told mostly from her perspective and unfolds as the story of Sarah unfolds for Julia. Julia is married to Bertrand, a handsome Parisian, and has a daughter, Zoë. Julia becomes pregnant while investigating the events at the Vel’ d’Hiv’, and she must learn to trust herself and gather courage to keep the baby. Julia, through sorting out the story of Sarah, also sorts out her own life, her divorce, and her future. 

Sarah’s perspective features prominently in the first half of the novel, and she is a secondary protagonist in the novel. She is a young Jewish girl taken from her apartment in Paris by the French police. She must journey to try to save her brother, then toward freedom and an escape from her demons. The journey hardens Sarah, who hides most of her personal life from her family. In the end, Sarah takes her own life in the USA, but leaves behind a son, William.