Conway is a rookie detective on the Murder Squad. Before Conway was born, her father abandoned her mother. Ever since she was a child, Conway has been the target of harassment due to her biracial parentage: “I take after my da, or I assume I do: I got the height from my ma, but not the thick shiny black hair, or the cheekbones, or the skin that’s never gonna need fake tan” (39). Though motivated and clever, she carries a permanent chip on her shoulder. As the only female and biracial detective on the squad, she’s treated to a variety of pranks that make her paranoid about her future in the department. Despite the hazing, Conway is tough and determined not to let anyone else intimidate her. 

Steve is Conway’s partner on the Murder Squad. His perpetual optimism and boyish innocence act as a foil to Conway’s abrasiveness: “Steve is thirty-three, a year older than me, but he looks younger: maybe the schoolboy build, all gangly legs and skinny shoulders; maybe the orange hair that sticks up in the wrong places; or maybe the relentless godawful cheerfulness” (4-5).