Ralph Weatherby Argent is Christopher Chant's maternal uncle. Christopher Chant knows him as Uncle Ralph, pronounced "Rafe". It was a long time before Christopher realized that the man's name was written as "Ralph". Uncle Ralph treated Christopher as something other than a mere object and was the first person on 12A to do so. Christopher proved willing to die for his Uncle Ralph. Ralph Weatherby Argent, being a criminal, was not all that impressed and kept his nephew busy plying the Related Worlds for goods both unavailable and illegal in Series Twelve.
Law enforcement referred to Argent as The Wraith and his gang became known by the same name. The smuggling went on for many years with the help of Christopher Chant and a fellow that for a long time Christopher only knew by his spirit name, Tacroy. Eventually it is revealed that Tacroy is none other than a fellow named Mordecai Roberts who also worked in the employ of the sitting Chrestomanci, Gabriel de Witt.