John Warwick (born John Walden) is a confident and intelligent young lawyer. At only 28 years old, he is a prominent attorney in Clarence, South Carolina and possesses a large estate in good condition. However, John’s position in society is insecure, since, as the child of a mixed-race woman, he must hide his ancestry at all times.

John is tall and lean with high cheekbones, straight-black hair, and pale skin. John is able to pass for white around those who don’t know who is mother is, and, when he is 15, he asks Judge Straight to teach him to be a lawyer. After several years of secret study, John leaves Patesville for South Carolina, adopting the surname Warwick from the title character of the 1843 chivalric romance The Last of the Barons.

John bitterly resents the racial caste system that forces him to deny his background, but because he is unable to escape it, he chooses to do what he can to work the system to his advantage.

Like her brother, Rena Walden is tall and fair-skinned with straight black hair. Whereas her brother is commanding and self-possessed, Rena is shy and tender-hearted. John is more outwardly emotional, but Rena feels more deeply.