Franklin Crabbe is the eighteen-year old son of affluent parents who live in Toronto, Ontario. Franklin, who goes by his last name, is weak, lanky, and skinny at the start of the novel, but transforms himself into a stronger person by the end of the novel. In addition, he is missing two fingers on his left hand as a result of frostbite he suffers while in the wilderness.

Before Crabbe runs away, he suffers from anxiety attacks that he treats by drinking vodka throughout the school day. Selfish and entitled, he blames his parents for his unhappiness and believes that his family’s wealth and his very high IQ lead people to place expectations on him that he cannot and does not wish to meet. He does just enough work to get by in school and constantly argues with his parents. By the end of the novel, he shifts his self-perception by assuming responsibility for his own life and trying to help others.

Mary Pallas is a former professor of history who has gone into hiding in the Canadian wilderness after euthanizing her husband, who is brain damaged and paralyzed after an accident. She saves the protagonist’s life. She is blond, gray eyed, beautiful, and moves with confidence through the wilderness.