Adwoa: female resident of Dunkwa.
Armah, Daniel: retired policeman, Darko Dawson’s mentor.
Asase: officer assisting Darko Dawson.
Bediako, Frank: commander, Ghana Armed Forces Northern Command, Kumasi.
Brave: one of the workers at the Aniamoa dredging site.
Chikata, Philip: inspector, Darko Dawson’s junior partner at CID Accra Central Headquarters.
Dawson, Christine: Darko Dawson’s wife.
Dawson, Darko: detective chief inspector, Criminal Investigations Department in Accra, Ghana.
Dzamesi, Prosper: director-general, Criminal Investigations Department.
Dzigbodi, Gbedema, Kwame, and Kweku: Kudzo Gablah’s fellow mine workers.
Ekaw: Kudzo Gablah’s friend.
Gablah, Kudzo: alluvial mine worker who discovered the
dead body.
Gifty: Christine Dawson’s mother; Darko Dawson’s mother-in-law.
Granger, Chuck: American owner of gold mines next to the Lieu site.
Helmsley, Akua: environmental reporter for The Guardian (UK).
Huang, Leonard: Chinese miner/merchant frequently acting as interpreter for Darko Dawson.
Kobby: a constable in Dunkwa.
Kwapong, Phyllis, MD: forensic pathologist.
Lartey, Theophilus: assistant commissioner of police (ACP); Inspector Chikata’s uncle.
Liu, Bao: Chinese illegal alluvial miner and murder victim.
Liu, Lian: Bao’s wife.
Liu, Wei: Bao’s younger brother.
Manu, Deborah: deputy commissioner of police, regional
commander, Ghana Police Service, Ashanti Region.
Nkrumah: pathology technician.
Obeng, Augustus: detective sergeant; Darko Dawson’s junior partner at Obuasi Divisional Headquarters.
Okoh, Amos: brother of Yaw Okoh.
Okoh, Yaw: worker in a local mine, murder suspect.
Longdon, Ata: assistant commissioner of police, commander, Obuasi Divisional Headquarters.
Queenie: flirtatious Dunkwa resident, a.k.a. Smoothie.
Sackie: inspector, Dunkwa Police Station supervisor.
Samuels, Joshua: freelance photographer for Akua Helmsley.
Tanbry, Beko: American gold investor.
Thompson, Tommy: director of Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC).