As the plot develops, Simon and his two shipboard friends, Poly and Charles O'Keefe, become the primary focus of the narrative. Simon's Aunt Leonis also plays an important role as Simon's guardian and mentor, and various passengers are woven into the mystery plot. The confusion surrounding the true identity of Simon's cousin, Forsyth Phair, lends suspense to the characterization.

Raised in the backwoods just outside of Charleston, Simon Renier has such old-fashioned manners and patterns of speech that others comment that he does not appear to be from the present century. For five years, Simon has lived with his ninety-year-old Aunt Leonis, who represents "comfort and all-rightness in a precarious world." Simon still mourns the abrupt death of his parents, which has profoundly shaken his belief in God and his faith in the future. Two things help sustain him in this crisis of faith...