Kyle, the novel’s primary protagonist, is a 16-year-old boy who lives in Brooklyn Heights, an upper-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. He attends Stuyvesant High School, a charter school for students gifted in math and science. Kyle lives with his parents, Tom and Alyse Donahue, his sister Kerri, and recently, his Uncle Matt, brother to Kyle’s father. Uncle Matt moved in with the family after he sustained severe injuries in an accident. The apartment in which they live is a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom residence with a view of the Manhattan skyline; Kyle is aware enough of the standard of living to know that his mother’s inheritance makes that possible, as she is “a trust-baby” and “the one with the money” (34). At school, Kyle is friends with Marcus and Bangor (a nickname for Alex Barton). He is currently reading short stories by J.D. Salinger for English class and relates one character’s plight to his own in the hours after the terrorist attacks, which demonstrates Kyle’s aptitude for metaphorical thinking.

Kyle’s father and his Uncle Paul are police officers with the NYPD. Uncle Matt was a police officer as well, but his extensive injuries now prevent him from working.