Jolene Smith is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. As the novel opens, Jolene leads a withdrawn and solitary life, still haunted by her best friend’s death more than a decade earlier. At this point, Jolene is cynical and judgmental, going so far as to include rude messages in her emails to her coworkers, which she conceals by changing the font to white. As she puts it, “Writing that note was the only form of therapy I could afford” (7). Jolene also regularly turns to activities such as drinking or watching television to dull her pains and anxieties. At the same time, in an attempt to please her parents, Jolene presents herself as successful. She also shows her potential for tenderness in the way that she treats her neighbor, Miley, though she is occasionally brusque and dismissive as well.

Jolene’s character development begins when she accidentally gains access to all of her coworkers’ digital communications. At first, Jolene simply plans to use the information to her advantage, but as she learns more about her coworkers, Jolene finds herself feeling increasingly compassionate toward them, particularly as she discovers similarities between them and herself. Meanwhile, Jolene’s time with Cliff also has a positive impact on her, as she begins to move past the negativity that she built up over time.