The Music of Chance characters

Appears from the start

A Boston firefighter in his early thirties whose wife has left him and whose young daughter lives with his sister. An unexpected inheritance gives him the freedom to quit his job and spend more than a year driving across the United States without a destination. Reserved and increasingly detached from his former life, he has nearly exhausted the money when he encounters Jack Pozzi beside the road.

Also known as Jackpot

First appears in chapter 2

A young professional poker player whom Nashe finds bruised and stranded on a rural road. Volatile, confident, and convinced of his ability at cards, he says he has arranged a high-stakes game against two wealthy amateurs and needs a backer to buy into it.

Also known as Flower

First appears in chapter 3

One of two reclusive Pennsylvania millionaires who won a lottery together. Short, talkative, and outwardly genial, he receives Nashe and Pozzi at the pair's estate and joins Stone in the poker game Pozzi has come to play.

Also known as Stone

First appears in chapter 3

Flower's wealthy companion and fellow lottery winner. Quiet, methodical, and absorbed in constructing an elaborate model of their estate, he appears less sociable than Flower but is equally willing to gamble for large stakes.

First appears in chapter 5

The overseer assigned to supervise Nashe and Pozzi after the poker game. He controls their supplies, accounts, and contact with the outside world while they work on the estate. His manner is usually calm and practical, but the men have little power to challenge his decisions.

First appears in chapter 5

Murks's large, taciturn son-in-law, who assists him in guarding the estate and monitoring the two laborers. His physical presence reinforces the limits placed on Nashe and Pozzi.

Appears from the start

Nashe's young daughter, who has lived with his sister since the breakup of his marriage. Nashe visits her before beginning his long period on the road, but his drifting life keeps him at a distance from her.

Appears from the start

Nashe's former wife, whose departure left him alone with an infant daughter and helped sever his attachment to his old life. She is part of the history he reviews before abandoning his job and taking to the road.