Dusty  Dusty Winters was a ranch hand and truck driver most of his life, before he got too old to ride and too blind to drive. He's been married six times, twice to the same woman, once to her twin sister, once for 3 days, once by mail and once by accident. Dusty likes a good time and indulges his weaknesses. He's a risk taker, undisciplined, independent, a hell-raiser, worldly and tough--but never mean. If something needs to be got, Dusty is not shy about gettin' it. He don't take no guff from nobody, except maybe his daughter Darlene who visits him dutifully.

The General  Gen. Horace T. Hurlbutt, U.S. Army retired, served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He takes control, but he sees the world as a booby-trapped battleground where only the best-prepared will survive. He suffers from arthritis and bladder problems, but he tries to shake it off so he'll set an example for his men. The General respects and demands loyalty. He's into discipline, physical conditioning and meticulous planning, and resists compromise. He salutes the flag whenever it appears, and has 35 different renditions of "God Bless America" in his 8-track tape collection. He's seen every John Wayne movie a dozen times and is always begging to rent them again.

The Professor   Charles D. Bassett, Ph.D, is a former professor of Comparative World Literature. He's convinced that the barbarians are at the gates and that most people suffer the misfortune of shoddy educations. He considers himself one of the last protectors of Western civilization. He'll walk out of movies and throw books out of windows. Sometime he's snooty and standoffish, but he will cooperate, grudgingly at times. His health is the most fragile of the group, even though he is the youngest. Seriously absentminded, his prospects for regaining his clarity of mind and mobility are not favorable. And while the Professor knows this, he remains remarkably cheerful.

Boone   John Calvin Boone was a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver for 36 accident-free years, and one of only 64 drivers out of 84,000 UPS drivers to achieve this remarkable feat. Naturally, he loves to drive and would have done so until the day he died, except for his diminishing eyesight. Boone's family has all moved away, and while he is pretty content, sociable, considerate and practical, he misses the road and the opportunity to meet new people. And in spite of his restlessness, he's a very good poker player with a tremendous poker face.

Evelyn   Evelyn is a character, literally. Formerly a bank manager, she still carries the poise, intelligence and business acumen of her younger days. All of this is combined with just a streak of a wild side. Her family is nearby, including her three younger brothers. Evelyn loves Las Vegas, is very adroit at cards (both games and tricks), and is an ace navigator on road trips. She exudes competence, is quite attractive, and knows how to handle men of all stripes. Plus she's a talented singer.

Miss Overdunne   Poor Miss Overdunne. She appears to be patient, perpetually calm, and slightly obsequious, but one wonders if there's more than a bit of tension boiling underneath that composed exterior. Miss O, as Dusty calls her, is, in fact, a bit overwhelmed by the feisty crowd at Elderpark she supervises. Perhaps she was hoping for a more tranquil atmosphere? In any event, she spends about half her time quoting rules to a selectively deaf audience and the other half trying to please the bean counters at Elderpark Inc., a division of Jujitsu Heavy Industries (Hong Kong).

Ludmilla   Ludmilla Tukitova is a recent émigré from the former USSR. She is a basically kind and efficient staff member, but there is a bit of a culture clash that comes out in her somewhat politically incorrect behavior. She likes to smoke, and sometimes distills potatoes for her special "health drink" that she dispenses to the residents (consisting of at least one stiff shot of vodka). She is solidly built and gets directly to the point, not unlike the products of the company she was the former director of---the Southern Ukraine Farm Machine Collective. Instead of her ID badge, she prefers to wear her Heroine of the Soviet Union medal. What did she win it for? "Is better you don't ask," says Ludmilla.