Laurence "Larry" Darrell

From the first time Larry is introduced, he is clearly not like others, an impression that is confirmed by his spiritual journey, which drives the novel. Dr. Nelson brings up Larry after his parents die when he is young. Larry is sent to an elite school where he meets and becomes friends with Chicago's elite. Before finishing high school, however, he goes to Canada, lies about his age and enlists to fight in World War I, where he is made an aviator. During the war, one of his friends, Patty, dies in front of him, an incident that has a deep and lasting impact on him.

Larry moves back to Chicago and becomes engaged to Isabel Bradley, but it's clear he's not like the others in his social group. At a luncheon, where he is first introduced to the reader, he tells Isabel that the only...