The plot’s central character, Bashkim, is an eight-year-old boy who is living with his Albanian immigrant parents and his younger sister at the start of the novel. Bashkim’s life is defined by many contrasts: American suburbia versus immigrant desperation, innocence versus maturity, trust versus fear. Though he is exceptional as a student and son, his family life is chaotic and seems to hold him back. His sense of responsibility and discipline is impressive for a child, but it is only a result of his demanding upbringing, as he must help his family and work at a young age. His character undergoes a change from innocent and curious to critical and confused, catalyzed by his exchange of letters with the troubled soldier Specialist Luis Rodriguez-Reyes and continuing when his mother is killed and he and his sister are sent to foster homes. Throughout his experiences, Bashkim is challenged by systems of authority, injustice, and his own maturation, though he ultimately prevails with love and compassion.

Avis is a wife and mother in her mid-fifties who has overcome a childhood of poverty and neglect to build a seemingly stable family life. At the start of the novel, she learns that her husband is having an affair and wants a divorce.