Rachel Innes
The sharp, stubborn narrator whose decision to rent Sunnyside places her at the center of the investigation.
Gertrude Innes
Rachel's niece, secretly engaged to Jack Bailey and often forced to conceal his movements.
Halsey Innes
Rachel's nephew, friend of Jack and admirer of Louise, later abducted while pursuing the conspiracy.
John 'Jack' Bailey / Alex
Gertrude's fiancé and bank cashier, who disguises himself as a gardener to locate the stolen bank assets.
Liddy Allen
Rachel's longtime maid, comically certain that every unexplained noise has a fatal or supernatural cause.
Detective Jamieson
The investigator who coordinates the official case while tolerating Rachel's independent discoveries.
Arnold Armstrong
The murdered son of Paul Armstrong, whose abuse and blackmail of Anne Watson provoke his death.
Paul Armstrong
The bank president who fakes his death and hides the stolen assets inside Sunnyside.
Louise Armstrong
Paul's stepdaughter, secretly drawn back to Sunnyside and pressured to protect her family.
Doctor Walker
Paul's conspirator, Louise's coercive suitor, and the organizer of attempts to retrieve the hidden fortune.
Anne Watson
A Sunnyside servant, aunt to Arnold's illegitimate son Lucien and sister to the boy's mother Lucy; she shoots Arnold and later dies of an infected wound.
Thomas Johnson
An elderly servant who knows more of the house's history than he will say, and is found dead without a mark on him — frightened to death, in the doctor's verdict.
Nina Carrington
A woman who learns the secret of Paul Armstrong's false death and attempts blackmail.