Ferber's novels generally featured strong female protagonists, although she fleshed out multiple characters in each book. She usually highlighted at least one strong secondary character who faced discrimination ethnically or for other reasons; through this technique, Ferber demonstrated her belief that people are people and that the not-so-pretty persons have the best character.

In this 1921 novel, she introduces and develops three characters: Great Aunt Charlotte Thrift, age 74, and Charlotte's niece, Lottie Payson, 32, and Lottie's niece, Charley Kemp, 18.