The novel is recounted in the first person. Cal is both the narrator and the main character. Much of what Cal believes to be true about the history of the Guardians and the Keepers is false, and as a result, the reader is somewhat misinformed about what the Keepers are actually doing to the world. Though she is fairly intelligent and capable, she tends to be distracted through much of the novel from the problems of the rest of her pack, and this puts her at odds with correctly assessing a number of situations, most notably the fact that Mason and Neville, two members of her pack, are gay. Despite these small shortcomings, she is a reliable narrator for the most part.