Clare is a twelve-year-old light-skinned girl living in Kingston during the school year and visiting her maternal grandmother in the country during the summer. She questions her identity and place in Jamaican society, often feeling caught between her father's pride in his white ancestry and her mother's silent connection to Black culture. She is inquisitive, reading extensively about historical events to make sense of the divisions she observes.

Boy is Clare's father, a descendant of an English aristocrat who arrived in Jamaica as a colonial justice. He works selling liquor and spends much of his time and money gambling at the racetrack or drinking. He strongly believes his family belongs to the Presbyterian Elect, a status he feels grants him guaranteed salvation regardless of his earthly actions.

Kitty is Clare's mother, a woman from a mixed-race farming family. She works at a downtown hotel and saves her money carefully, occasionally buying food for strangers living in poverty. Emotionally withdrawn from her older daughter, she harbors a deep, unspoken love for Jamaican bush culture and Black people, keeping her passions hidden behind a reserved exterior.

Miss Mattie is Clare's maternal grandmother, an older woman living in the countryside. Having endured a harsh life working in cane fields as a child, she is now devoted entirely to her religion and the memory of her Black father. She owns a farm where she raises animals and enforces rigid social boundaries between different classes of visitors.

Zoe is a dark-skinned girl who lives on Miss Mattie's land and attends the local country school. She is highly self-aware regarding social disparities and understands the limitations her poverty and skin color place on her future. She provides Clare with an essential friendship, though their differing backgrounds occasionally cause tension.

Jennie is Clare's younger, darker-skinned sister. She stays with another relative during the summer while Clare visits their grandmother. She receives more of their mother's affection, causing occasional jealousy from Clare.

Miss Ruthie is a single mother who grows and sells food at the local market to support her two daughters. She lives rent-free in a one-room bungalow on Miss Mattie's land. She is open with her children about the harsh realities of social inequality.

Miss Beatrice is an eighty-seven-year-old white woman who lives in a large house and strictly controls her expenses. Having lost her husband and thirteen children, she is bitter and frequently directs her anger at Black people. She maintains outdated, rigid expectations for social behavior and takes Clare in to correct the girl's manners.

Miss Winifred is Beatrice's sister, widely considered unwell by the local community. She lives in isolation, refusing to wash or maintain her appearance as a form of lifelong self-punishment for a youthful romantic relationship with a Black man.

The Justice is Clare's great-great-grandfather, a minor English aristocrat who established a profitable plantation. He strictly enforced colonial rule, personally punishing escaped slaves and establishing a legacy of wealth and cruelty that his descendants revere while ignoring the violent reality.

Nanny is a legendary historical figure and leader of the Windward Maroons. Recognized as a wise woman, she guided her people against colonial forces and taught them survival and combat techniques. She stands as a symbol of resistance and female empowerment in Jamaican history.

Mr. Lewis is a local educator who once participated in the Harlem Renaissance in New York. Disillusioned by political failures and violence against Black activists abroad, he now actively avoids teaching political history, preferring to instill local pride without challenging the systemic inequalities of the island.

Joshua is Clare's fourteen-year-old cousin who lives in an addition to Miss Mattie's house. He spends his days working on the farm and participates in local masculine rituals with the older boys and men.

Uncle Robert is a light-skinned civil servant and Clare's godfather. His family ostracizes him due to his sexual orientation and his relationship with a dark-skinned American navy officer.

Inez is a young woman of mixed Miskito Indian and Maroon descent. Forced into a relationship with The Justice, she spends years planning her escape while secretly acquiring resources to aid the enslaved people on the plantation.