Canal Dreams

Main Characters and Their Development

• Hisako Onoda — a Japanese cellist whose inner life is as complex and layered as the music she plays. Isolated aboard a tanker stranded in the Panama Canal, Hisako must confront not only external threats but also the ghosts of her past. Her journey is one from vulnerability and alienation to the awakening of hidden strengths, as tragedy and violence become catalysts for a new, darker self-awareness. Around Hisako revolve other passengers and crew members, each revealed through her perspective: their fears, weaknesses, and virtues become part of a shared dramatic tapestry, where every character is a distinct note in the anxious symphony of human destinies.