GIDEON COLE (EDWARD JAMES OLMOS)

A freelance crime photographer by trade, Gideon is also the victim of a man who claimed thirteen victims and skinned them alive. Most died after days of suffering, but some, like Gideon, survived the ordeal to live on with disfigurements. While his physical scars may seem the biggest issue to strangers, Gideon has in fact long since come to terms with this, while it is the emotional and mental scars which still haunt him.

The intimidation which the attack instilled in him is something which Gideon must constantly fight to overcome, and is indeed what primarily motivated him to bring other victims together in order to empower them and himself by rising above the cycle of fear. Since then, he has been receiving open letters from his attacker -- Jacob Allan Bane -– in prison, and while they are entirely non-threatening, they serve as a constant reminder of his trauma.

RACHEL ATHERTON (LESLIE HOPE)

Rachel was living a perfectly normal life as a teacher until the events of the pilot episode changed things forever. Forced to watch as a man is flayed right in front of her, she is introduced to Gideon’s world and is forced to come to terms with her new identity as a victim. However, she is resistant to face up to this, and doesn’t want to see herself in the same context as Gideon and the residents of his house.

As such, Rachel is an outsider, a part of the group but not one of them. She doesn’t know where she fits in to the world anymore, and is hesitant to start getting to know the other residents.

MARK WATTERS (JAMES MORRISON)

As a Psychology academic at a nearby university, Mark would seem to be an average middle-class professional on the surface. However, Mark is haunted by the abduction of his son when he was just nine-years-old. To this day, the boy has never been found, with no hint as to whether he is dead or alive.

After years of failed police investigations and suspect after suspect, the trail went cold. The strain tore his marriage apart and his wife left him, leaving Mark alone and in a mess. He fell in with Gideon some time later and agreed to join him at his inherited house, promising not to let his son’s case rest.

GABRIELLE JACKSON (CCH POUNDER)

Gabrielle is a forensic pathologist, and as such she has the most direct access to official evidence and resources. Her career was at its height when she was violently raped by a serial offender who later died in prison, but not before Gabrielle had to endure an elongated trial.

Throughout the process, she was ruthlessly cross-examined and her testimony doubted. She was made to feel like the guilty party rather than the victim before the correct verdict was finally reached. As such, she has been left with little faith in the justice system, and resents legal due process.

ISAAC FREEMAN (TUCKER SMALLWOOD)

Before taking up residence at Gideon’s house, Isaac was a soldier serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though he held a distinguished record and an honourable rank, everything changed for him when he was captured by enemy forces and subjected to torture and humiliation. Isaac was forced to endure weeks of agonising interrogation with no sign of rescue, struggling not to give up any vital information.

Although he was eventually freed in a prisoner-exchange, the experience left him a shadow of his former self. His confidence, decisiveness and efficiency were all decimated. Consequently, Isaac received an honourable discharge and never returned to the front lines.

DEANNA SYKES (TAYLOR COLE)

Deanna is a clinical social worker in the professional sphere, but amongst Gideon’s group, she is defined by her abduction as a teenager. She was snatched from her otherwise pleasant, public school in an affluent suburban neighbourhood and held captive for a period of six weeks. During this time, she was forced to live as the ‘daughter’ of the man that took her, along with two other girls as a twisted fantasy ‘family’.

Although found by police unharmed, along with the other girls, the experience left her in a confused state bordering on Stockholm syndrome –- the identification of the victim with the captor. A process of therapy thereafter allowed her to properly process the trauma, and this ultimately led her to become a social worker herself.

AARON SIDWELL (THOMAS DEKKER)

The youngest of the residents, Aaron was recently taken in by Gideon as a victim of abuse at a children’s-shelter. Aaron grew up in care and never knew his biological parents, spending his entire childhood bouncing around a variety of foster families and group shelters.

As a result of this instability, Aaron fell into patterns of drug abuse and self-harm. On more than one occasion, Aaron was subjected to a combination of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of those who were supposedly caring for him. Though too late to prevent this mistreatment, Gideon’s group provides a haven for Aaron as he attempts to rediscover a childhood that was stolen from him.