Thomas is a young World War One veteran suffering from combat fatigue, which causes a facial tic and an occasional stammer. He holds a degree in architectural studies and takes a job restoring a whitewashed medieval mural in a northern Yorkshire church. He treats his isolated assignment in the belfry as an escape from his memories of the Passchendaele trenches and his failing marriage.

Charles is an affable Royal Air Force veteran hired to locate the unhallowed grave of an excommunicated aristocrat. He lives in a tent on the church grounds and approaches his nearly impossible archaeological task with good humor. His self-assured, optimistic demeanor provides a sharp contrast to the nervous energy of his new friend in the belfry.

Kathy is the fourteen-year-old daughter of the local stationmaster. She possesses a highly practical nature and participates heavily in her Wesleyan church community. She refuses to let the visiting restorer remain isolated in the bell tower, regularly bringing him hot meals and a gramophone to ensure he is fed and entertained.

Alice is the young, beautiful wife of the local parson. She lives in a cavernous, sparsely furnished parsonage, feeling out of place among the rural parishioners. Her gentle inquiries about the mural work initiate a delicate series of interactions with the restorer.

Keach is the pragmatic, cheerless parson of the Oxgodby church. He objects to the mural restoration and the restorer's choice to live in the belfry, viewing both as unnecessary expenses. He oversees the parish strictly and fulfills the demands of an eccentric will only to secure a large financial endowment.

Vinny is the estranged wife who left her husband while he served overseas. She remains in London during the summer, casting a long shadow over her husband's thoughts as he attempts to start over in the countryside.

Emily is a young village girl suffering from consumption, a deadly strain of tuberculosis. Despite her severe illness, she maintains a hopeful outlook and plans to see the restored mural when she recovers.

Mr. Ellerbeck serves as the Oxgodby stationmaster and the patriarch of a devout Wesleyan family. He hosts Sunday dinners with lengthy graces and participates enthusiastically in church activities, including selecting a new organ.

Mrs. Ellerbeck is a practical, hospitable village woman. She worries about the solitary restorer working in the belfry and ensures he eats well, later gently correcting his inappropriate song choices at a church sing-along.

Adelaide is a wealthy, eccentric spinster whose recent death sets the plot in motion. To secure her large financial endowment, the church must fulfill the strict conditions of her will regarding the mural and a specific ancestor's grave.

Piers is a disgraced medieval ancestor of the Hebron family. Excommunicated centuries ago, his remains are the target of an ongoing archaeological search in the fields surrounding the church.

Lucy is the young organist at the nearby Barton Ferry church. She invites the visiting substitute preacher to her home for tea, unknowingly exposing him to her family's unspoken grief over the war.