Charlie is a bartender and former con artist living in a world where shadows can be magically altered. She works hard to maintain a legitimate lifestyle and provide for her younger sister. Resourceful and intelligent, she utilizes her skills from her criminal past to investigate the dangerous world of shadow magic when a murder occurs near her workplace.

Vince is Charlie's quiet and reliable boyfriend. He earns a living cleaning up gruesome scenes and maintains a calm, collected demeanor. He is unusual in his society because he does not possess a shadow, a trait that draws suspicion from others. He keeps the details of his wealthy family and personal history closely guarded.

Posey is Charlie's younger sister and a university student. She is deeply fascinated by mainstream wellness trends surrounding shadow magic, turning to internet tutorials in her quest to bring her own shadow to life. She is adventurous and determined, actively seeking out academic and mystical methods to achieve her goals.

Lionel is a wealthy, immaculately groomed man with significant influence in the occult community. He uses his vast resources to insulate himself from the consequences of his ruthless actions. He seeks to retrieve a powerful stolen volume called the Liber Noctem to secure his initiation into a powerful group of magicians.

Adam is a young man who has recently engaged in the magical criminal underworld. He takes dangerous risks and acts with a strong sense of arrogance. His involvement in the theft of shadow magic artifacts draws Charlie back into her old investigative habits.

Rand is a charismatic con man and a formative father figure from Charlie's past. He initially exploits Charlie's skills through coercion but gradually develops a genuine mentoring relationship with her. He introduces her to the thrill and danger of the criminal underworld.

Doreen is an acquaintance of Charlie who leverages her university connections to negotiate favors. She worries about her boyfriend's recent involvement in dangerous, magical criminal activities and seeks Charlie's unique skills to locate him.

Balthazar is Charlie's former criminal boss who runs an illegal shadow parlor beneath the bar. He remains deeply connected to the underground trade of magical artifacts, books, and dangerous shadow modifications.

Paul is a rare bookshop owner who deals in occult books and paraphernalia. He becomes involved in the dangerous trade of shadow magic texts, and his possession of a powerful stolen book leads to a fatal encounter.

Hermes is a dangerous gloamist searching for the missing pages of the Liber Noctem. He aggressively uses his disembodied shadow to threaten, choke, and attack those who stand in his way.

Odette is the owner of the Rapture Bar & Lounge where Charlie works. She serves as a grounded, supportive presence, tending to Charlie's wounds after a violent encounter and offering practical advice.

Remy is a privileged teenager from a wealthy family who learns to manipulate his shadow through a blood ritual. He is coerced by his grandfather into using his magic for violent acts, leaving him emotionally burdened by the harm he causes.

Red is Remy's quickened shadow, named and treated as a living companion. He serves as a receptacle for all of Remy's darker impulses, anger, and trauma, slowly gaining independence as he carries out violent acts.

Adeline is Lionel Salt's granddaughter. She is a privileged young woman who frequently uses her status and magical connections to intimidate others, living comfortably within her family's opulent lifestyle.

Malhar is a university student writing an interdisciplinary thesis on shadows and their consciousness. He acts as an academic resource, testing Charlie's shadow and warning Posey against dangerous social media magic trends.

Raven is a mysterious shadow alterationist who feeds a collected group of independent shadows. She possesses deep knowledge about Blights, shadow control, and the history of the local magical guilds.

Knight Singh is a gloamist and collector of occult texts. He holds valuable information about shadow binding and historical experiments, making him a target in the underground magical community.

The Hierophant is a dangerous figure in the local magician's guild known as the Cabal. Originally a thief, he is now controlled by a rogue, disembodied shadow searching for a way to achieve a permanent human form.

Ms. Presto is a skilled confidence artist and an associate of Rand. She helps teach Charlie the mechanics of pickpocketing, using mannequins to hone the young girl's physical skills.

Travis is an unscrupulous and abusive man who briefly marries Charlie's mother. Charlie uses her early skills in deception to plant fake evidence and convince her mother to eject him from their home.

Ian is a former hookup of Charlie who attends the same drunken house parties. He is aggressive and attempts to start a fight with Vince by questioning him about his gruesome job.

Suzie is a girl at the house party who actively tries to flirt with Vince, testing his loyalty and patience in a crowded, drunken environment.