Nick Charles is the protagonist of the story. An ex-member of the Trans American Detective Agency, he retired when he married Nora and has lived a life of parties and luxury since. He was good enough at his job to earn renown, as the press remembers and (erroneously) reports on his activities when he comes back to New York even though five years have passed. His reputation is such that everyone he meets knows him or knows of him by reputation and assumes he is working a case.

Although he lives off his wife’s money, Nick represents certain masculine gender roles of the time and, indeed, of American popular culture ever since. Women young and old are attracted to him, and he faces danger with relaxed bravery. He combines the seemingly conflicting roles of tough detective and gentle husband with aplomb, and his suave confidence resonates in the modern era in characters such as Tom Clancy’s hero, Jack Ryan. He is both tough and sensitive. He can physically take down criminals but remain kind to his wife and young ladies in distress. He is street-smart but debonaire, equally at home with the thugs at Studsy’s speakeasy and the scholars with whom he and Nora dine.