Laurel Nicolson is a protagonist and a point-of-view character throughout the novel. She is the eldest child of Stephen and Dorothy Nicolson and grew up in Sussex, England, in a cozy rural cottage called Greenacres. When the book opens, Laurel is 16, intensely infatuated with a boy named Billy, and eager to move to London and attend drama school. She is close with her siblings, especially her brother, Gerry, but in the way of many adolescents, Laurel is convinced her family is boring, her parents have never experienced intense feelings, and longs for the great things she is sure await her. She moves to London despite her parents’ protests and begins a successful career as an actress, using her talents for observation, and her family continues to be part of her life, especially her mother, whom Laurel loves and admires.

Laurel likes being seen and praised, but she is also a close observer of people. She prides herself on being able to keep a secret; after all, she has kept the secret of having watched her mother murder a man for 50 years. When her curiosity is stirred, Laurel shows determination in pursuing her investigation. She hopes there will be a reasonable motive for her mother’s crime, but she also wants to know the truth for its own sake.