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Adolf Hitler – leader of the Nazi Third Reich in Germany until his suicide during World War II.
Agatha Fromstein – American ex-pat and trainer of the American team of gypsies. Wife of Horace Fromstein.
Alyosha – inquisitor from Moscow Center.
Anastasia Gromyko Orlovski – half Roma on her mother’s side, Hero of the Soviet Union, and leader of the Russian gypsy camp. Married Gregor Orlovski and bore him three children.
Beria – head of the state security apparatus during Stalin’s rule.
Boris Butovski – replaced Egon Tyudi as leader of the Russian gypsy camp.
Clive Bartram – American OSS agent handler of the Roma’s transition to America after the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Dika – Roma who married Pitti.
Dmitri Gogol – resistance informer assassinated in Belgrade by Tobor Merikano.
Drina Mettbach Merikano – Roma woman married to Tobor Merikano. She is the heroine of this novel.
Egon Tyudi – first leader of the Russian gypsy camp.
Francois Bouffant – assassination target of Anastasia Gromyko Orlovski in France.
Fyodor Oblensky – work name Konrad Blentz. Tobor Merikano’s Russian control in Germany.
Gerhardt Stumpf – Hauptmann of the Waffen SS, who saved Nadya from the camps but remained faithful to the Nazi cause.
Gregor Orlovski – partner leader of the Russian gypsy camp who later became a leading henchman for Joseph Stalin. Married Anastasia Gromyko.
Gudada – Roma who was strong as an ox, a violinist, and wagon maintenance man. Married Syeria.
Harman – Roma known for his prolific visual memory. Married Tsura.
Heinz von Klopfer – Gestapo General assassinated by Tobor Merikano. He was the architect of the Nazi death camps.
Horace Fromstein – American ex-pat and trainer of the American team of gypsies. Husband of Agatha Fromstein.
Jaelle Hanstein Tewitz – Roma woman married to Milosh Tewitz.
Jorgen Bierstadt – German “racial purity” doctor and agent.
Joseph Stalin – leader of the USSR during the period of this novel.
Kizzy – Roma fortune teller, whose name is short for Qetsiya. Married Little Yoska. She knew Tobor Merikano while he was operating in France.
Lala Tewitz – Roma wife of Yanko Tewitz and the mother of Milosh and Stefan. She was eventually sent to the work camps because of her Roma blood.
Luminitska – Roma wife of Stefan Tewitz.
Milosh Tewitz – Roma man and the eldest son of Yanko and Lala Tewitz. Married Jaelle Hanstein.
Nadya Merikano Hanstein – Roma fortune teller. Tobor Merikano’s sister, mother of Jaelle Hanstein and mother of one child by Big Yoska.
Nicu Mettbach – Roma man and the oldest of the Mettbach brothers. Married Mirela, who bore him one child.
Pali Mettbach – Roma man married to Dooriya, who bore one child.
Pesha Mettbach – Roma man married to Fifika, who bore one child.
Pitti – Roma and a quick-study linguist who never learned to write. Married Dika.
Sergius – Metropolitan of the Orthodox, elected Patriarch during Stalin’s rule over the USSR.
Simza Mettbach – Roma woman married to Walther Merikano. Bore the twins Mihai and Ion, Anastasia and two other children.
Stefan Tewitz – Roma man who could climb buildings rapidly without using external aids. Son of Yanko and Lala Tewitz and the younger brother of Milosh. Married Luminitska.
Syeria – Roma woman married to Gudada.
Tobor Merikano – Roma man with the work names Beznick and Hans Klein, who was an effective assassin. Married Drina Mettbach, who bore him many children. He is the hero of this novel.
Tsura – Roma woman married to Harman.
Walther Merikano – Roma man and Tobor’s cousin and nemesis. Married Simza Mettbach, who bore him many children.
Yanko Tewitz – bureaucrat married to Lala Tewitz. He was eventually sent to the work camps because of his Roma blood.
Yoska – nicknamed Big Yoska. Married Nadya Merikano (her second marriage).
Yoska – nicknamed Little Yoska. Roma man who could mimic speech and animal cries. Married Kizzy.