What Have They Done to Liza McLean?

Sixteen-year-old scholarship student at Douglas College, carrying the weight of a shattered family. Her father was killed by a hit-and-run driver, and her mother¹¹ is imprisoned for stabbing that same man. Meg copes by burying herself in academic excellence and trying to control her younger sister Liza³. She is anxious, prone to blushing and sweaty palms, but fiercely protective and intellectually sharp. Beneath her cautious exterior, she yearns for truth and stability. Her investigation forces her to confront her own avoidance of grief and to open herself to trust, particularly with Benny², who challenges her assumptions about privilege and friendship. She is the emotional heart of the story, driven by love and guilt in equal measure.

Benny, as he prefers, is a Year Eleven student who lives alone in a rundown cottage off campus. Son of a domineering board member, he uses sarcasm to mask deep loneliness and resentment toward his cold, absent father. A skilled hacker, he initially probes the school's secrets to defy his father and out of boredom. Meeting Meg¹ transforms his motivation: he becomes genuinely invested in uncovering the conspiracy, revealing a capacity for loyalty, tenderness, and bravery. He is tall, with floppy brown hair and striking blue eyes, and his privilege isolates him as much as it protects him. His arc moves from cynical detachment to vulnerable commitment, especially as he risks his life for Meg¹ and the truth.

Meg¹'s fourteen-year-old sister, tall, dark-haired, and effortlessly charismatic. Before her transformation, Liza was a rebellious party girl who charmed teachers and students alike, wore her late father's necklace constantly, and seemed determined to be expelled. After one night out, she becomes a polite, studious, and emotionally vacant version of herself, even renaming herself Elizabeth. The change is the novel's central mystery, representing the theft of identity at the hands of the school's mind control program. Her previous vivacity hides a deep vulnerability and grief over their parents' fate, which she masked with recklessness.

Meg¹'s roommate and closest friend at Douglas. A scholarship student with long auburn hair and green eyes, Clara is observant, chatty, and surprisingly astute about the school's oddities. She is the first to notice the pattern of personality changes among students over years and compiles the initial list. Though sometimes dismissed as overly earnest, she provides Meg¹ with unwavering emotional support and practical help, including hacking reconnaissance. Her warmth balances Meg¹'s intensity, and her courage grows as the danger escalates.

Benny²'s best friend, a brilliantly talented designer with a halo of chestnut curls and an intimidatingly confident demeanor. Macks uses style as armor against the creepiness of Douglas College and hides his discomfort behind snarky commentary. He essentially lives in Benny²'s spare room, using it as a studio. Despite his haughty exterior, he is deeply loyal, altering Meg¹'s dress for the Garden Party and helping search the maze for Benny². His perceptiveness about people often cuts through pretenses, and he serves as a grounding, if occasionally exasperating, presence.

A Douglas student and one half of the inseparable hacker duo with Serge⁷. Kevin is short, dark-haired, perpetually nervous, and brilliant with computers. He and Serge⁷ create programs for Benny², though he constantly fears expulsion. His cautious nature makes his eventual exposure to the mind-control gas at the alumni dinner especially devastating; he becomes a compliant shell overnight. His transformation personalizes the conspiracy's horror and underscores the vulnerability even of those who know the dangers.

Kevin⁶'s inseparable friend and coding partner. Tall, blond, and lanky with wide brown eyes, Serge is obsessed with conspiracy theories, particularly involving CIA mind control. His wild ideas are initially mocked but prove eerily prescient. He is less anxious than Kevin⁶, but equally loyal, and his determination to uncover the truth through video footage analysis provides crucial evidence. Kevin⁶'s brainwashing hits him hardest, forcing him to confront the reality behind his fantasies and to take action rather than just speculate.

The wealthiest and most socially dominant girl at Douglas, granddaughter of Prudence Johnson¹⁰. Kitty is beautiful, cruel, and adept at using people for her amusement before discarding them. She befriends Liza³ because Liza³ is unafraid to party with townies, but her possessiveness curdles into vengeance when Liza³ is taken away for reprogramming. Her actions reveal a chilling disregard for human life, driven by entitlement rather than ideology. She represents the dangerous intersection of inherited privilege and untreated pathology.

Year Twelve head girl from an old Douglas family, impeccably behaved and passionate about garden design. She is small, with an icy blonde bob and a carefully controlled exterior. Underneath, she has been secretly investigating the school's plant-based mind control for years, believing she can dismantle it alone. Her theft of the crucial plant and her mistaken attack on Benny² stem from desperate conviction. She represents the danger of solitary resistance: her methods mirror the system's secrecy and cause collateral damage, though her motives are ultimately protective.

Elderly head of the Douglas College board, a pioneering former student and teacher who built an empire in pharmaceuticals and fragrance. Prudence presents as a gracious, exacting doyenne but is the mastermind behind the decades-long mind-control program. She uses a plant-derived gas and hypnotic affirmations to reshape students into compliant high-achievers, genuinely believing she is granting them their desires. Her calm, confessional manner with Meg¹ reveals a chilling combination of intellectual brilliance and moral vacancy. She views people as instruments to be tuned, not autonomous beings.

Meg¹ and Liza³'s mother, a former Douglas College student who fell under Prudence¹⁰'s control until she met her husband and escaped. After he was killed investigating the school, she was framed for the murder of Marcus van Kirk and has been in prison, cut off from her daughters. Her conversation with Meg¹ in the visiting room is the key that unlocks the entire conspiracy, revealing the gas, the hypnosis, and her husband's journalistic pursuit. She is a portrait of resilience in the face of engineered tragedy, still holding love as her guiding principle.

The current principal of Douglas College, a weak man easily intimidated by the board, especially Prudence¹⁰. He covers up Dave Cooper's death without question, punishes Benny² with manual labor, and desperately tries to maintain order during the Open Gardens Weekend. His complicity is more pathetic than malicious, illustrating how institutional evil thrives on the obedience of mediocre men.