I used to have a page on the site specifically for a summary of the story so far - but I never updated it. And to be honest, it was kind of pointless: I.L.S. is not about the plot, it's about the characters. Any story that happens in the course of I.L.S. happens entirely because of the characters, or because of their reactions to events. So here's a list of the most important of those characters, and in their bios you'll find some information about what's happened to them so far, where they started from, and where they are now:

Primary Characters

- Alain (Alain: body: height slightly taller than average, build lanky; hair: fair, but with streaks of bleach-blond & other colours, hairstyle "ironic" mullet; eyes: blue; clothes: op-shop - retro style jeans & pants, 70s/80s style tracksuit tops, etc.) Alain has been firm friends with Mal since they were at school together; however Alain, being rather self-absorbed, has tended to take the friendship for granted, and outsiders might wonder just how much Mal gets out of the friendship. Alain is a perpetual university student, relying on his parents for the majority of his monetary support, though recently he's given indications of moving on from that lifestyle. Indeed, he's been going through something of a personal epiphany of late, the consequence of the a number of factors including the inexorable loosening of his friendship with Mal as Mal has focussed more and more on the band he plays in. Alain had a brief, rather unimpressive stint as the band's manager - a job he blustered his way into and was ultimately kicked out of against his will. That experience embittered him against Mal and the band, and although it seems like he's now forgiven Mal, Alain is currently out of the loop with his friends and with the others, preferring to deal with his own life by himself - though it's notable that none of the others have made much of an effort to stay in touch with him.

- Mal (body: height average, build skinny to slightly undernourished; hair: mousy brown; eyes: blue, sometimes wears glasses but usually contacts; clothes: jeans, t-shirts - the more obscure, the better.) Once pretty much living in Alain's shadow, Mal - always a simpler and more happy-go-lucky person than his friend - has gradually grown in confidence, with the perhaps inevitable result that he's also grown less close to Alain. The main driving force behind this change is the growing success of the band he plays bass in, the TerrorFractals: driven largely by the drummer, Eric, and lately by the singer (and guitarist), Steve, the band is starting to build a name for itself: playing increasingly popular gigs, getting some play on local radio, touring interstate. All of which causes Mal to spend more time rehearsing with his band-mates, and less time hanging out with Alain (or any of his other friends).

- Rona (body: short, slightly stocky; hair: blonde & very closely cropped; eyes: blue; clothes: jeans, tank-tops - nothing fancy) Originally from Sydney, Rona is good friends with Alain and, especially, Mal - though in the past that hasn't stopped her from telling them frankly and impatiently when she thinks they're being idiots. Her main friendship, though, is with Hannah, who she's long regarded as her best friend. Indeed, Rona is normally very friendly, loving to meet new people - it's because of her that Sacha was drawn into the group. Lately, though, she's been more withdrawn and introspective, coming out of a bout of depression brought on by the collapse of the street magazine she wrote for and effectively ran. Not helping her mental health was a stroke suffered by her father in Sydney - though more worrying for was her own inability to feel very deeply about the situation. With Rona more withdrawn from her friends than has been the case in the past, the group has fractured somewhat - though they still all consider themselves friends, they rarely hang out together like they did in the old days. In particular, Hannah and Rona are no longer as close as they used to be - though Hannah, at least, has been reluctant to admit this. Recently, Rona has come to rely on and confide in Brent more than any of her other friends, not least because, when she was half-heartedly looking for a new job after the magazine sank, Brent got her a job at the bookshop he works at. Since then Rona's life has been a bit more steady, especially with the constant support of her boyfriend Matt, and now she's started to reflect on her own life more than she has in the past.

- Sacha (body: average height, a bit larger-than-average build; hair: very dark brown; eyes: green, and wears glasses; clothes: shirts & t-shirts, pants - rarely jeans, almost never skirts or dresses, almost never anything but functional black.) The most recent member of the group, but also in many ways the breath of fresh air that revitalised it. The I.L.S. story began with Sacha, newly arrived in Melbourne from Canberra, meeting Rona, Alain, and Mal in a café. Sacha can be hostile towards new people and new experiences, and breaking the ice with her can be trying; however once she's decided that someone's worthwhile she's a loyal friend. Fortunately Rona pushed through Sacha's initial standoffishness initial reaction and, though she's not the kind of admit to it, years down the track Sacha is grateful. Her attitude has softened as she's settled into life in Melbourne, and the others have come to value her well-considered opinions and occasional unexpected flashes of humour and wry sarcasm. She's single and apparently happy in that state, though her irritation when others try to interfere in that aspect of her life may hide a certain amount of insecurity. After initially struggling to find work on her arrival in Melbourne, she's for some time now been employed full-time in an office in the city. When she comes home it's to a house that she shares with Hannah - an arrangement that, much to everyone's surprise, is flourishing.

- Brent (body: a bit taller than average (and taller than Alain), healthy build - not as skinny as Alain or Mal; hair: ash-blond; eyes: blue/grey; clothes: jeans, shirts - neat, but nothing particularly colourful or stylish.) A good friend of Rona's from her uni days - and, to a lesser extent, a friend of Alain's and Mal's, too. He tends to be somewhat peripheral to the group, largely because he's in a long-term relationship with a girl named Catherine - of whom Rona disapproves strongly (though she's stopped telling him that now). Naturally the relationship between Brent and Catherine hasn't been without its tensions - not least when Brent got drunk and ended up cheating on Catherine, a situation he agonised over afterwards but has never quite got around to telling Catherine about - but at the moment they seem to be doing okay. When he's not working at the second-hand bookshop at which Rona now works too, Brent volunteers at a drop-in centre - which is a cause of no end of worry for Catherine. Indeed, a large part of Brent's life is spent trying to balance the demands and needs of his girlfriend, and his own interests and those of his friends.

- Hannah (body: average height, average (fit & healthy) build; hair: dark brown (sometimes dyed black), chin-length; eyes: brown; clothes: stockings, skirts or dresses, her ubiquitous cream-coloured op-shop coat.) Best friends with Rona. Bolder and more out-going than anyone else in the group, Hannah's very self-assured, if not a little narcissistic. Behind her brashness, though, there are a few vulnerabilities, not least because of her tense relationship with her family (mother and younger brother - her father died when she was very young). After being, at first, romantically (or at least sexually) interested in Sacha, she seems to have given up on that idea for the time being, especially now that she's embarked on a promising relationship with *** - much to the relief of everyone, after her unhealthy previous relationship with a girl named Janine, who is now well and truly out of the picture. Despite their apparent differences, however, Hannah and Sacha have become good friends: they share a house and things are going well for them. Truth be told, Hannah is probably better friends with Sacha than she is with Rona at the moment, though she doesn't seem to realise this.

- Phuong (body: average height, but appears taller than she is because of her lean build; hair: black, long (usually worn in a pony-tail); eyes: brown; clothes: conservative, plain colours) A good friend of Rona's, though they don't see each other as often as they'd like to. She tends to be more aware than Rona can be of how others are feeling. She works in her parents' Asian grocery.

Secondary Characters (a selection)

- Catherine: Brent's girlfriend. Although she's much more materialistic than him, Brent can't help but be in love with her. It's just one of those mysteries, and as long as Rona isn't playing devil's advocate he and Catherine have a reasonably happy relationship - despite misunderstandings and tensions created by their vastly differing world-views.

- Janine: Hannah's girlfriend - though it took a long time for Hannah to accept that that was indeed the nature of their relationship. They met when Hannah went out one drunken night with Alain: a case of mistaken identity on Hannah's part led to her kissing Janine. Time passed, one thing led to another, and Hannah slept with Janine when she was feeling at a particularly low point. She's been unable to get rid of her ever since.

- Kate: Sacha's younger sister, back in Canberra. She's something of a confidant for Sacha, though a confidant who takes delight in teasing her mercilessly when the mood takes her. Naturally she knows Sacha better than anyone else, so she knows precisely which buttons to push and which to steer well clear of. She works for the Department of Defence.

- Matt: Rona's boyfriend. He works in the second-hand record store at which Rona sells all her review copies of C.D.s. Currently the happiest couple in the I.L.S. universe - well there's got to be at least one, doesn't there?

- The TerrorFractals: Mal's somewhat disfunctional, and very poorly named, band. Besides Mal, they consist of Steve, the singer and guitarist, who prefers to focus on the "good time" aspects of being in a band rather than the hard graft, and Eric, the drummer, who is easily the most focussed and serious of the band-members; the band originally had a fourth member: Chas, a guitarist, who was unreliable due to a somewhat more than recreational drug habit, and who quit the band long ago.

- Phuong: A good friend of Rona's, though they don't see each other as often as they'd like to. She tends to be more aware than Rona can be of how others are feeling. She works in her parents' Asian grocery.