Araminta Smagulov, at seventy-six years old, carries the weight of her years with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind. Her home in Lynbrook, New York, is a testament to her life's journey, filled with mementos and medical texts from her days as a pathologist. Her once jet-black hair, now a distinguished silver, is often pulled back into a neat bun, emphasizing her sharp, angular features. Her eyes, a piercing blue, are the windows to a soul that has seen much and forgiven little. Her attire is always immaculate, favoring dark colors and tailored suits, a habit from her professional life that she never shed in retirement.

Araminta's character is a complex tapestry of daring, resentment, and a lingering romanticism that she buries beneath her often mean demeanor. The loss of her father, Horace, to a stroke when she was young, left a scar that never healed, fueling her resentment towards life's unpredictability. This event shaped her into a woman who dared to confront life head-on, yet never fully recovered from the sting of loss.

In her retirement, Araminta seeks to reclaim a sense of control over her life, longing for the days when her work gave her purpose and power. Yet, her age and the changing world around her seem to conspire against her, making her feel increasingly irrelevant. In response, she delves deeper into her past, using her medical knowledge to write a controversial memoir that challenges the ethics of medicine, hoping it will reignite her relevance.

Her approach works, as the book garners attention, sparking debates and drawing the ire of former colleagues. Yet, it also isolates her further, as her uncompromising stance and bitter reflections alienate those around her. Araminta's life is a constant battle between her desire for recognition and the conflicts that arise from her abrasive nature and the ghosts of her past.

Araminta's unique quirk is her habit of speaking to her father's portrait, recounting her day's events and seeking his nonexistent approval, a silent testament to her unresolved grief and her longing for connection.