Amina al-Sirafi is the protagonist of the novel. She is a middle-aged ex-pirate who is convinced to take one more job in an attempt to ensure her family’s financial well-being. She is well over six feet tall and unusually strong and adept at fighting both for a female of the time and for her age. She enjoys dressing in stolen finery to impress her crew and her enemies alike, though for this trip she must disguise herself at first. She has had many husbands, but her current one, who is also the father of her child, is a demon named Raksh. He causes much of the anxiety of the novel, for Amina fears that Raksh will find out about Marjana’s existence. Amina’s leadership style is one of acceptance, and she uses each person’s individual gifts to aid the group as a whole. Her adventures follow the pattern of a typically solitary Hero’s Journey, but because she is a pirate and needs a crew, she also uses her skills as a leader to support the entire group that undertakes the quest with her.

Despite being a fierce warrior and earning a frightening reputation, she is constantly required to prove herself throughout the novel to people who doubt the stories or assume that a middle-aged woman can’t possibly be a competent pirate.