Danny Conroy

Danny Conroy is the first person narrator and protagonist of the novel. He is the son of Cyril and Elna, brother of Maeve, husband of Celeste, and father of May and Kevin. After Elna abandons the family when Danny is just a child, Danny relies heavily on his relationship with his sister. Growing up in the Dutch House with their distant father, the siblings lean on one another for a sense of family and stability.

After Maeve leaves for college, Danny finds the most comfort spending time with the family's housekeeper and cook, Sandy and Jocelyn. Though he loves and admires his father, treasuring the weekends he spends driving with Cyril, Danny's relationship with his father never offers him the same closeness he feels with Maeve.

When Danny is 15, Cyril dies suddenly of a heart attack, leaving him in the Dutch House with his cold stepmother, Andrea...