Eleanor is a first-generation Caribbean immigrant whose recent death forces her children to confront her hidden past. Through a posthumous recording, she reveals her early life as Coventina, a young woman who loved open-ocean swimming and baking traditional black cake. She is a survivor who spent decades constructing a stable American family life while guarding profound secrets about her origins and a lost child.

Benny is a thirty-seven-year-old biracial, bisexual woman living a peripatetic life in New York. Estranged from her family for eight years following a disastrous Thanksgiving confrontation, she drifts between precarious jobs, including dressing in a meerkat costume to promote an electronics store, while dreaming of opening a café. She relies on flight as a survival strategy, avoiding deep commitments to protect herself from further emotional harm.

Byron works as a highly accomplished oceanographer and media darling who uses his platform to advocate for ocean conservation. He thrives in his structured professional environment but struggles with emotional intimacy and unexpected changes. The revelations surrounding his mother's recording force him to reevaluate his rigid worldview and his approach to personal relationships.

Bunny is a spirited island girl who pushes her best friend to swim farther out into the rough ocean waters. She operates later in life as a champion long-distance swimmer and motivational speaker, building an international platform advocating for ocean health. She stands out as a pioneer for equality who refuses to hide her authentic self from her stadium-sized audiences.

Gilbert is a striking surfer who dreams of leaving his island home to study law in London. His ambition and confidence immediately draw Coventina to him. He represents the promise of a different, more expansive life outside the restrictive confines of their small community.

Bert is the late husband of Eleanor and father to Benny and Byron. He established a comfortable, traditional life for his family in Southern California, working as a successful lawyer. He struggled to understand his daughter's unconventional life choices, leading to a painful estrangement before his death.

Marble is a renowned food guru, best-selling author, and social media influencer based in London. She specializes in the cultural history of food, specifically focusing on how ingredients cross geographical borders. Adopted by a white British couple, she spends her life wrestling with questions about her physical differences and her true heritage.

Lin is a first-generation Chinese immigrant who runs a modest general store on a remote Caribbean island. Raising his daughter alone after his wife vanishes, he falls into a disastrous habit of betting on cockfights. His desperation leads him to make unthinkable compromises to satisfy his debts to the local criminal underworld.

Clarence is a notorious local loan shark and underworld crime boss who holds tremendous power over the island's residents. More than twenty years older than Coventina, he uses Lin's massive gambling debts as leverage to force an unwanted courtship. He is a looming, repulsive figure who treats people as negotiable commodities.

Charles is the Bennett family attorney, a steadfast professional who handles the estate after Eleanor's death. As a widower, he developed a quiet, trusting bond with Eleanor in her final years. He facilitates her final wishes, acting as the crucial bridge between her hidden past and her surviving children.

Mathilda is Coventina's mother, a woman who mysteriously vanished when her daughter was only five years old. She leaves behind a legacy of island baking, specifically the intricate, multicultural recipe for black cake. Her absence leaves a profound void in her daughter's life.

The original Eleanor is a Caribbean island girl who ends up in an orphanage after her mother's death and father's abandonment. Fascinated by geology and the interconnectedness of rocks, she dreams of studying science but settles for nursing. She becomes a close companion to Coventina before a tragic accident alters both their destinies.

Lynette is Byron's highly capable ex-girlfriend. She possesses a clear-eyed view of Byron's flaws, specifically his self-absorption and emotional distance. She refuses to let his rigid personality dictate her life choices, maintaining her independence even when their lives unexpectedly intersect again.

Joanie is a graduate assistant whose relationship with Benny acts as a major catalyst in the Bennett family dynamic. Her presence prompts Benny's disclosure of her bisexuality during a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner.

Steve is a man from Benny's past in Arizona. He reacts with extreme violence upon learning about Benny's previous relationships, inflicting trauma that Benny hides from her family for years.

Pearl is the faithful maid employed by Lin. She harbors deep reservations about the forced marriage of her employer's daughter and privately considers taking extreme action to prevent it.