The tiger in the grass

An eccentric eighty-two-year-old woman who, empowered by a lucid memory, lives out her final, physically debilitated years with grace.

An Englishwoman who arrives in California to bring sanity and peace to a household with five half-orphaned children and a despairing widower.

An eight-year-old boy caught between the longing of childhood and the harsh realities of his meager circumstances in a Mexican village.

An eleven-year-old girl navigating the transition from childhood to maturity in a small Mexican village.

A recurring character from Doerr's previous novel, Stones for Ibarra, who appears in several stories reflecting on her life in Mexico.