Francis Gleeson

Tall and thin and Irish, Francis Gleeson becomes a police officer in the Bronx in the 1970s shortly after moving to New York City. He marries Lena Gleeson and they move to Gillam to start their family. Eventually they have three girls. Francis climbs the ranks of the NYPD, but when goes to help with a domestic dispute next door his neighbor, Anne Stanhope, shoots him in the face. He survives, but the shooting ends his law enforcement career. Much of Ask Again, Yes follows Francis' journey to heal and then eventually forgive Anne Stanhope. Although Keane depicts him as a family man, in the middle of the novel Francis has an affair. His marriage survives and he ends up caring for his wife, who gets cancer.

Brian Stanhope

Brian Stanhope is Francis Gleeson's first partner on the NYPD. Keane depicts him as an alcoholic from very...