The heroine Lin Wanzhi is 23 years old. She graduated from the Department of Journalism at Shanghai St. John's University and later became the first female social reporter of Shenjiang Daily. She appears to be gentle and intellectual, but is actually smart and tenacious. She has keen observation and a sense of justice. She has grown from a reporter pursuing the truth to a media person shouldering the responsibility of her family and country.
Proficient in shorthand, photography, and fluent in French (acquired in a missionary school)
The male protagonist Shen Moshu is 28 years old. His surface identity is the deputy general manager of the Chinese Merchant Bank in the French Concession. He is a celebrity in the Shanghai social circle. His real identity is an underground intelligence agent of the Chinese Communist Party, codenamed "Nighthawk". He has a cold and elegant appearance but a fiery heart. He is burdened with the pressure of a dual identity. He has an excellent memory and is good at financial operations and intelligence analysis.
