Ed Kennedy

The nineteen-year-old protagonist who drives a cab for a living. An underachiever in school, Ed dreams of artistic achievements and romantic love. Instead of taking action, Ed watches life go by, waiting for his destiny to arrive. After making a citizen's arrest of a bank robber, Ed is thrust into the media limelight. An unknown entity begins sending mysterious messages written on playing cards with missions Ed must accomplish in his neighborhood. Ed ends up positively impacting his community. 

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Audrey O’Neill

A regular player in the friends’ Annoyance card game and the love of Ed’s life. Audrey is a quirky blonde with an engaging smile. She regularly refuses intimacy with Ed to avoid feeling vulnerable. Audrey maintains a steady round of lovers, which frustrates Ed.

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Marvin “Marv” Harris

Ed’s best friend from childhood. Marv is blonde, affable, and a class-clown type with lots of friends. He works with his father as a carpenter.  What looks like Marv's stinginess is a cover for the saving of his earnings to benefit his illegitimate child.

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David “Ritchie” Sanchez

Ed’s witty friend and regular in the Annoyance card game. David is nicknamed “Ritchie” for the tattoo on his right arm of Jimi Hendrix that looks instead like the comedian Richard Pryor. Ritchie lives at home, receives public welfare, and spends his days at the pub and the betting shop. 

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Beverly Kennedy

Ed’s mother. Bev sees her husband’s deadbeat tendencies in Ed. She channels her resentment of her husband’s failures onto Ed. Bev was having an extramarital affair at the time of her husband’s death from alcoholism.

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Milla Johnson

An eighty-two-year-old woman living alone who mistakes Ed for her long dead husband, Jimmy.

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Doorman

Ed’s seventeen-year-old German Shepherd–Rottweiler canine mix. Doorman was named for his preferred resting spot near the door. He’s notorious for his foul odor despite Ed’s constant grooming. 

Gregor Kennedy

Ed’s father, who died of liver failure from alcoholism six months before the start of the story. While Bev resents Gregor for his drinking and failures, Ed remembers him as a gentleman.

Tommy Kennedy

Ed’s younger brother. Tommy seems to do everything faster, better, and smarter than Ed. He attends university and is on a path to better his life. 

The bank robber

A freckle-faced redhead with a volatile temper. The bank robber is an amateur criminal who is captured by Ed fleeing the scene of a bank holdup. 

Daryl and Keith

The self-styled hitmen who are sent to guide and motivate Ed. They eat Ed’s food, beat him up, and bring him snacks as part of their duties. 

45 Edgar Street Man

A physically imposing man who gets drunk and rapes his wife at night while their daughter cries outside. He is the man who lives at the first address Ed receives on a card and is the focus of Ed’s first intervention.

Thomas O’Reilly

An irreverent Catholic priest of a dwindling church. He moves out of the church rectory into the slums to serve his community.   

Sophie

A fifteen-year-old athlete who competes on her own terms, running barefoot rather than in shoes made for the sport. 

Angie Carusso

A single mother of three children. Angie is worn down both physically and emotionally by subsistence living and sacrificing for her children.

Gavin Rose

A fourteen-year-old punk who verbally abuses immigrant shop owners, shoplifts their stock, and bullies younger kids. Gavin’s older brother Daniel regularly beats and humiliates him.

Lua and Marie Tatupu

Husband and wife of five children who struggle to improve their standard of living. The Tatupus model a loving family life. 

Bernie Price

A film-buff owner and the sole staff member of the Bell Street Theater. Bernie sells tickets and popcorn and runs the projector. He acts as a confidant and fellow messenger to Ed.

Suzanne and Melinda Boyd 

Marv’s former girlfriend and their daughter, who suddenly relocated to another town three years before the story begins. 

Sender of the Aces

The person sending the cards and clues to Ed. This character is physically average in most respects at medium-to-short height, brown hair, and wearing jeans and gym shoes. He’s described as a boy with a man’s voice. The sender of the aces takes credit for the struggles Ed undergoes.