Rebecca Shaw

Rebecca Shaw is a young teenager who goes missing at the beginning of the novel. She and her parents are from London, and they come to a small town in the English countryside for vacation on multiple occasions. Rebecca eventually goes missing and is never found. The cause disappearance is never found, and her disappearance provides a psychological backdrop for the novel as the town proceeds with daily life over the next 13 years.

Rebecca Shaw’s Parents

Rebecca Shaw’s parents appear distraught in the wake of Rebecca’s disappearance, and they stay in the town for a year to help search for Rebecca. Eventually, the husband goes back to London. It appears that they later divorce, as Rebecca’s mother is once seen in the town again years later with another man.

Austin Cooper

Austin Cooper is the editor of the town’s local newspaper, the...