Maria, the protagonist of Eleven Minutes, is a Brazilian woman who has temporarily relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, where she is also temporarily functioning every night as a sex worker. Her last name is never used in the book. When the narrative begins, Maria is a tween. Most of the story, however, takes place when she is 22 years old. She is described as extremely attractive, with long black hair, light-colored eyes, and a lithe figure. Maria is inquisitive, intelligent, and driven. She strives to make up for the poverty of her upbringing with ambition, devotion to study, and hard work. When she makes the decision to be a sex worker, she is determined to be the best sex worker.

While Maria learned quite early that boys can be heartbreakers, she never abandons her dream of finding her one true love, with whom she might live happily ever after. In the meantime, she has become remarkably adept at manipulating men to achieve her aims.

Maria is quite philosophical and capable of abstract thought. Throughout the narrative she keeps a diary in which she records her observations, insights, opinions of others, and ever-present feelings of ambiguity about various aspects of her life.