Clay is a professor of humanities, husband of Amanda, and father of Rose and Archie. He is an intelligent man who is aware of his lackluster work ethic, especially in relation to his wife’s; though he is proud of his profession, there is an underlying anxiety that his work is insignificant or impractical. His smoking is a vice that serves as a source of rebellion and guilt and is an open secret between him and Amanda. Though he has a strong desire to be a patriarch and a useful provider in the traditional sense, his desire does not match his abilities: He quickly becomes lost without a GPS and abandons someone in need, then becomes passively subservient to G. H. when his son Archie needs help. Though none of the characters know how to face the apocalyptic scenario in which they find themselves, Clay is the one who most embodies how useless contemporary skills are in the face of a survival situation.

Amanda is Clay’s wife and the mother of Rose and Archie. At the outset of the novel, she seems to take much more pride in her career goals and the need that her office has for her than her role in the family.