Margaret

Margaret Downing is the wife of Bill, and the mother of Julia. A wealthy former teacher, Margaret is now a stay-at-home mom who is bored with her daily life and worries about the staleness of her marriage.

Despite her desire to make things work with Bill, Margaret wants to make her own life more interesting, and so has an affair with George. Margaret later confesses the affair, and seeks to actually make the marriage with Bill work.

Bill

Bill Downing is the husband of Margaret, and father of Julia. Bill is wealthy financial consultant who worries about the distance between himself and his wife. He is generally unhappy with life, but is grateful to have his daughter, Julia.

Bill is also latently sexually attracted to adolescent girls, and comes under enormous stress when his firm goes under investigation. By the end of the novel, he appears to have...