Nora is a 32-year-old, highly successful literary agent living in New York City. Known professionally as "The Shark," she is pragmatic, driven, and unapologetically urban, preferring Peloton workouts and sharp tailoring to country charm. She has a recurring pattern of being dumped by boyfriends who travel to small towns and fall in love with wholesome local women. Despite her cold professional exterior, she is fiercely devoted to her younger sister, Libby, and prioritizes providing for her family above all else.

Charlie is a brilliant, severe book editor in New York City who carries the industry nickname "Storm Cloud." He wears dark clothing, delivers blunt feedback, and makes a terrible first impression on Nora by harshly criticizing her client's book. He unexpectedly turns up in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, working remotely while helping his family run their local bookstore.

Libby is Nora's petite, strawberry-blonde younger sister. Pregnant with her third child and feeling claustrophobic in her New York apartment, she plans a month-long getaway to Sunshine Falls. Libby is deeply romantic, creating a checklist of small-town experiences for them to complete, specifically hoping to find Nora a wholesome country boyfriend.

Nora and Libby's late mother was a beautiful, eccentric woman who raised her daughters alone in New York City after their wealthy father abandoned them. She pursued acting dreams and intense, disastrous romances that often ended in heartbreak. Her unexpected death years ago fractured her daughters' lives and permanently altered Nora's approach to relationships.

Jakob is a novelist-turned-rancher and Nora's former boyfriend from her early twenties. He was the only partner Nora truly opened her heart to, completely dropping her guard. He moved to Wyoming for a writer's residency and left her for a local woman, an event that deeply traumatized Nora and caused her to construct strict emotional walls.

Grant is the wealthy son of a billionaire hotel mogul who dates Nora in New York City. He travels to Texas for business, ruptures his appendix, and falls in love with a local woman named Chastity, deciding to abandon his city life to help run her family's hotel.

Shepherd is a rugged, handsome structural engineer who works as a local carpenter in Sunshine Falls. With his golden-blond hair and easy charm, he is the literal embodiment of every small-town romance hero archetype. He attended Cornell University but actively chooses a quiet, rural lifestyle.

Blake is a local man from Sunshine Falls whom Libby finds for Nora on the dating app Marriage of Minds. He is deeply insecure about his height, obsesses over traditional gender roles, and creates a torturously awkward evening for Nora during karaoke night.

Amaya is a gorgeous, down-to-earth bartender with dark waves and constellation tattoos. She previously lived in New York City to attend NYU but preferred to return to North Carolina. She has a complicated history with Charlie that makes Nora unexpectedly jealous.

Dusty is the successful author of *Once in a Lifetime*, a book set in Sunshine Falls. She writes popular commercial fiction and relies heavily on Nora's professional guidance. Her newest manuscript features an aggressive, cold character named Nadine who bears a striking and uncomfortable resemblance to Nora.

Sally is Charlie's mother, a freckled, bohemian woman who smells of jasmine and marijuana. She is an artist who studied in Florence and lived in New York before returning to her hometown to settle down. She helps run Goode Books but struggles with the practical management of the store.

Clint is Charlie's father and Sally's husband. He runs a local construction business in Sunshine Falls and prefers to handle manual labor himself. He has recently suffered from strokes, prompting Charlie to return home to help manage the family's responsibilities.

Brendan is Libby's steady, reliable husband who is nine years older than her. He works as an accountant and has a strong interest in trains. He stays in New York City to care for their two daughters so Libby can take a month off in North Carolina.