So Evil My Love

An Anglican missionary's widow who begins as a compassionate caregiver aboard the ship. She is earnest and morally earnest but becomes entangled in Mark's scheming, sliding from sympathy to complicity. Her arc traces a struggle between conscience and desire, culminating in a costly act of revenge that leads to surrender.

A suave, roguishly charming man with a hidden past as an art thief and forger. He uses Olivia to secure money and then divides his attention between her and Kitty, weaving a calculated web of blackmail and escape. His smooth demeanor masks a calculating, criminal mind.

Henry Courtney's wife, a woman worn down by neurosis and social scrutiny. Caught between appearance and reality, she becomes a victim of both Mark's schemes and her husband's controlling paranoia. Her trajectory ends in tragedy as the truth threatens to surface.

A cold, calculating husband who longs for an heir and wields his power to enforce control. He hires a private detective, confronts the blackmail scheme, and triggers a fatal confrontation that accelerates the story toward a violent climax.

A worldly and vulgar figure who strings along Mark and benefits from his schemes. She receives gifts like the locket and becomes an unwitting focal point in the blackmail plot. Her presence highlights the social competition and opportunism in the London scene.

Mark's former partner in crime, a foil who reappears to renew their criminal alliance. His past and knowledge of the art world contribute to the tension, as old loyalties collide with present schemes.

A private detective who traces missing stocks and bonds and builds a dossier on Mark. His investigation provides the external pressure that unmasks the web of deception and ultimately leads to exposure of the crimes.