Lauren's protagonist. She's the first-person narrator of the novel, and usually (though not always), a first-person narrator is also the protagonist.
Bankole is a 57-year-old African-American man who joins Lauren's group on the road north. Trained as a medical doctor, he is a widower who is on his way to Mendocino, where he owns a 300-acre farm. Bankole's sister, Alexandra, lives on the farm with her husband and children.
