When the novel opens the reader is unaware of the various backgrounds of the characters; all that is revealed at first are the names of the survivors, and a few small details about a few of them (like which have children, for instance). Rather quickly, however, the interactions between figures reveals the disparate backgrounds of each. Some are present on the boat because they are famous, some because they are extremely wealthy and influential, others in the lifeboat however, served as deckhands and part of the crew.

Part of the drama and tension of the narrative is how this disparate group of men and women from different—even competing—social and economic classes are now constrained by equitable circumstances. In the middle of the ocean, with only a thin layer of rubber between them and certain death, everyone is equal. While most seem not to take note of this fact, it does cause some explicit tension and even violence.

During a conversation where the group is sharing who they are and how they got on the lifeboat, Jason Lambert bursts out in frustration at the seeming helplessness of the situation:

‘And you, scribble boy.