Garth
Garth is a young man from the Republic of Texas who joins the Mayday Lincoln Brigade in Canada to fight against Gilead. He is tall and thin, with a face like creased leather and a scar up the side of his cheek; a missing molar on the left makes him look "illegal." He wears black jeans, black T-shirts, and a Blue Jays baseball cap, and his arms are tattooed with a squid on one biceps and a bat on the other. He is assigned to train Nicole (then going by the name Daisy) in physical combat and street survival after she agrees to enter Gilead as a false convert to retrieve a document cache from a mysterious source inside the regime.
Training and Relationship with Nicole
Garth sets up a small gym in one of the cubicles at Carpitz, the Mayday safe house, with a punching bag, a skipping rope, and a leather medicine ball. He teaches Nicole blocks, kicks, how to knee someone in the groin, and how to throw a "heartstopper" punch—making a fist with the thumb wrapped across the second knuckles of the middle and index fingers, then punching while keeping the arm straight. They practice this move extensively; Garth says she should strike first if she has the chance, because she would benefit from the surprise. He also tries to teach her to poke someone's eyes out using a dummy head with gel eyes, but Nicole finds the idea of squishing eyeballs with her thumbs repulsive. Ada, who sits in on the sessions, urges her to get her hands dirty and add some guts and grit. Garth tells Nicole she has potential, and she develops a crush on him, though she knows she will most likely never see him again once she enters Gilead. He does not take advantage of her feelings; he is there to protect her, including protecting her from himself.
Street Survival and the Fake Conversion
Garth accompanies Nicole onto the streets of Toronto, where she poses as a homeless runaway named Jade. He acts as her boyfriend and bodyguard, running interference with other street people and with the Pearl Girls who are sent to recruit her. He tells her not to talk to anyone, because any of the people they encounter could be a Gilead plant. When the Pearl Girls first approach, Garth puts his hand on Nicole's arm possessively and tells them she is not talking to them. He later gets into a quick fight with one of the men sleeping under the bridge where they spend the night, and wins. After the Pearl Girls make a second approach, Garth walks away without looking back, having sold Nicole to them for half the money they offered—a transaction that is part of the cover story to make her conversion seem genuine. Nicole is hurt by his abrupt departure and cries.
Role in the Escape
After Nicole and her half-sister Agnes escape from Ardua Hall and make their way to Canada by boat, Garth is among those waiting for them on the shore. When Nicole collapses from exhaustion and infection, Garth picks her up and carries her. He tells her, "What'd I tell you? Way to go! I knew you'd make it," which makes her grin. Later, at the Campobello Refugee Medical Centre, he is present when Nicole wakes up, grinning along with Ada and Elijah. Nicole notes that she had a puppy-love crush on him, but she never asked if he had a girlfriend because she did not want to hear the answer.
