Mazie Phillips-Gordon

Protagonist, and main viewpoint character, Mazie becomes an official New Yorker at age nine, when older sister Rosie and brother-in-law Louis take her and sister Jeanie away from an abusive father in Boston.

Mazie, outwardly coarse from trauma, is independent and rebellious, taking nothing from bullies or anyone else. She starts drinking and smoking in her early teens, and grows to enjoy self-indulgence, though not (like most others) necessarily for escape. This lifestyle exposes her to life's night-side, and introduces her to sexuality and, unfortunately, two pregnancies. At 20, she takes over her sister's job in the Venice Theater's ticket booth, and encounters people from literally all walks.

Mazie acquires a love for the bums, addicts, and homeless, and suffers much to help them. She becomes a sort of celebrity, and even a saint to some who have benefited from her aide.

Rosie Gordon

Rosie is Mazie's older...