Rachel Chu is a protagonist of the novel and one of the point of view characters. She is 32 years old and a professor of economics at New York University. She lives with her fiancé, Nicholas “Nick” Young, in New York City. Rachel was born in China and brought to the US as an infant by her mother, who changed her name to Kerry Chu. Rachel admires how hard her mother worked to support her. Rachel attended Stanford University and spent some time teaching abroad in Chengdu, China. She speaks Mandarin as well as English.

Rachel is a practical, grounded woman with a dry sense of humor. She isn’t impressed or dazzled by wealth. For herself, she chooses quality, durable items that are both flattering and practical. Rachel is more impressed by decency, loyalty, common sense, and a good sense of humor, as demonstrated by her friendship with her college roommate, Peik Lin. Rachel values honesty and integrity and judges people by their character. It annoys her that Nick’s family judges her by her background and lack of family, but she loves and is devoted to Nick and so is willing to forgive his meddlesome relatives for his sake.