The characters in The Cats of Seroster can be divided into two groups—humans and cats. The cats, too, fall into two categories, ordinary felines known as Brethren and Sisters, and the golden Miw, an ancient feline race descended from the sacred cats of Egypt. Generally speaking, the cats represent all that is noble and natural, whereas most of the humans are greedy, foolish or corrupt.

Cam of Cambridge is the main human character, a young man who loves his independence, a drifter who is skilled with his hands and has a clever mind. His strongest character traits are a desire to be his own person and an abhorrence of violence. In his travels he has learned to be a keen judge of human nature, and he uses this knowledge to survive, but in spite of his shrewdness, he is tempted by the...