The Engineer is the owner of Saigon's whorehouse/"restaurant" named Dreamland. After the fall of Saigon, he was captured and put in a re-education camp. He was released in 1978. He later escaped to Bangkok, Thailand with Kim and Tam,
Gigi used to be like the star of Dreamland until Kim had come that Friday night.When she first laid eyes on Kim, she felt a wave of jealousy and felt protective of the sweet new girl named Kim, who used to remind Gigi of what she used to be which was sweet and innocent. Now, she had dreams of going to the United States because she knew what her life would be like if she stays here in Vietnam.
Mimi is really Kim's older sister (I got this idea from looking at pictures of Lea Salonga (Kim) and Monique Wilson (Mimi) and thought about this fun and interesting theory, It makes sense in a way,..) who came from the Village to Saigon much earlier than Kim. She and Kim decided not to tell anyone, especially the Engineer, of their relationship for fear that he would use it in his sick little mind. Mimi is really jealous of Gigi's big sister-like relationship with her sister, Kim, and wish that she would stop. Mimi also slept with Chris at one time or another.
Kim was raised in a village, and at 13, she was promised to marry her own cousin, Thuy. She didn't like it, and ran away from home...not twice, but three times. At the end of the third time, she went back to apologize to her parents, who were already killed. She came to Saigon to escape. Not having anything to fall back on, Kim had asked Engineer for a job, not knowing at what she was getting herself in for. Kim had thought that all she would do is to meet guys and wait tables. Of course, it didn't turn out that way. On her first night at Dreamland, Kim had met Chris, and instantly fell in love with him. They were together for only two weeks, but there in Vietnam, it was like a lifetime together.
Chris was born in Atlanta, Georgia who only went to Vietnam because of a favor for his friends, John (who wanted him to go just for keeping him in line) and Ellen (who wanted him to find her missinier). Hiather was a World War Two veteran who was pleased to see his son going to the Vietnam. Little did Chris realize what life had store for him in Vietnam! After Chris spent a total of two tours in Vietnam, (and was getting ready to go home) he met and fallen in love with Kim, who changed his life for good.
Chris's friend who wanted him to help her find her missing and long-lost sister named Kimberly, When Chris returned after his two tours in Vietnam, she helped him get over the loss of Kim and they married.
John is Chris's friend who entered Vietnam as a person who loved having a good time, but end up regretting it, He helped the Vietnamese-American children finding their parents (or in most cases, their American GI fathers) and he had no idea that one of the cases that he had to deal was with Kim's search to locate Chris for their (her and Chris's) child, Tam.