At the start of Beneath Gray Skies, David Slater is a conscript private. As the story progresses, his hidden talents are uncovered by his superiors and his fellow soldiers. These gifts and his intelligence take him from guarding a fence on the Kansas border, to Bremen, Germany, through to a key role in Berlin, where he meets Hermann Goering, who befriends him. Later, he becomes the senior NCO in the First Airship Support Regiment, preparing for the arrival of a mysterious cargo to be delivered from Nazi Germany to the Confederacy. David’s experiences include a ride on the first (and last) major voyage of the doomed Nazi Zeppelin airship Bismarck, which he shares with President Jefferson Davis III, and the Confederacy’s new ally, Chancellor Adolf Hitler of Germany.

Brian Finch-Malloy served in the Great European war, where he won fame and a medal for his ferocity in killing Germans (it was from this that his nickname of “Bloody Brian” came about). Expert in languages, and fencing champion of his school, he has developed into one of the most useful and effective agents in the field of British intelligence, though with an embarrassing tendency to follow his own paths at times. At the start of Beneath Gray Skies, he is serving in the Army of the Confederacy, in an attempt to acquire information for the British Secret Service, where he makes friends with David Slater and recognizes David’s analytical powers.

Henry Dowling is a fluent German speaker, a fact that is of great help to him in his work for the British intelligence community, where, despite his drinking habits, he is often regarded as a future “C”, heading the Service. As well as his work in Germany to discover the plans of the Nazis, he works alongside his American counterparts building up the relationship between London and Washington, with some difficulty adjusting his traditional British attitudes to the more easy-going ways of America (not to mention the Washington DC climate).

Jefferson Davis III is the third President of the Confederate States of America, inheriting the position from his father (Jefferson Davis II, a relative of the real-life Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy). The original constitution of the United States has been changed to help confirm the power of the President, who is backed by a secret political police (the CBI) and a system of prison camps. However, the uneconomic nature of slavery and the constant drain on public expenditure by the Army means that the Confederacy is faced with decisions as to with whom it will make friends, and it is Davis’s business to ensure that the Confederacy is provuided with the means of survival.

A slave in Cordele, Georgia, Christopher Pole suffers from the prejudice of the local population. He manages to escape (with help) and ends up in a most surprising position in London, as well as later in Washington DC. He has been taught to read and write by his mistress, Henrietta Justin, in defiance of Confederacy law, and also plays jazz piano (though in the Gray Skies world, no-one recognizes it as jazz – African-American culture is ignored in the Confederacy. However, in the USA, his talents are appreciated, and to his surprise and pleasure, he discovers romance, in a most surprising way.

Hermann Goering was a brave and skilful fighter pilot in the First World War, taking over the Richthofen Geschwader spme time after the death of the “Red Baron”. He became an ardent member of the National Socialists (Nazis), initally with the SA, and suffered wounds in the (real-life) abortive Munich beer-hall Putsch of 1923. An intelligent and charismatic man who often appeared as the “civilized face” of the Nazis, he spoke many languages fluently, and was a connoisseur of art, looting several museums during WWII to fill his collection.

Daughter and heiress to the Wasserstein shipping millions, Virginia Wasserstein works for the US government in Washington DC on matters of national security. Her charm and attractiveness make her a favorite with the British contingent working with the Americans, but she has more than looks going for her – her knowledge of the transportation industry and her ability to interpret the facts make her one of the key players on the American team.

Without doubt, Hugo Eckener was the most successful airship captain of all time. A dedicated anti-Nazi, and a superb aviator, in all senses of the world. Until the loss of the Hindenburg in 1937, the Zeppelin company (which he headed from 1918) never lost a passenger’s life on a flight, despite covering over 1 million air miles in that time. In Beneath Gray Skies, Eckener builds and captains the giant Bismarck (which never really existed – the Zeppelin serial number assigned to Bismarck in the novel – LZ127 – went to the Graf Zeppelin in real life) and flies her to the Confederacy, bearing a mysterious and legendary cargo. Of course, Eckener actually did captain LZ126 (USN Los Angeles), LZ127 (Graf Zeppelin) on trans-Atlantic voyages.

Henrietta Justin is Christopher Pole’s owner, who hates the idea of slavery, but feels trapped by the social system that perpetuates it. She teaches Christopher to read and write, despite laws against it, and comes to regard him almost as her son. Later, she is forced to leave the Confederacy, as the result of suspicion levied against her by the CBI (Confederate Bureau of Investigation).

Colonel Antony Vickers serves in the Army of the Confederacy, close to the top of the Army’s Intelligence Corps. He speaks German, and has met Goering and Hitler, as well as being on speaking terms with President Jefferson Davis III of the Confederate States of America.

Sammy (other name unknown) is a CSA public slave, owned by the state, and used to perform menial tasks for the Army. He works for the Germans who have been assigned to the Confenderates’ Airship Support Regiment.