The main figures in The Big Rock Candy Mountain are Bo, Elsa, and their younger son, Bruce. Bo is big, strong, and athletic. He played professional baseball for a time and was a candidate for the major leagues before a knee injury ended his career. He is bright and gregarious, with an easy manner that wins friends. He also has a quick mind; he uncovers cheats easily and can swiftly adjust to a dangerous situation. A man of the world, he is wise in the ways of earning money in the underworld — by gambling and by selling illegal liquor. He is also insecure and obsessed with a fear of failure.

Elsa is at first taken with his charm, but she becomes alarmed when she sees him punch a vagrant. Bo is coldly merciless when protecting his interests, and the vagrant had been putting slugs into his hotel's...