Tao is a 14-year-old boy living with the Valley People in prehistoric France. He walks with a pronounced limp due to a disabled right foot, using his hunting spear as a mobility aid to keep pace with the others. Orphaned as a baby, he holds a marginalized status within his clan and is forced to provide for himself and his adoptive mother. Despite clan laws forbidding anyone but Chosen Ones from creating images, Tao secretly practices drawing and dreams of becoming a Cave Painter.

Graybeard serves as the shaman and Cave Painter for multiple clans in the region. He travels from group to group predicting animal herds, painting sacred images in hidden caves, and treating the sick. As an older man whose health is visibly declining, he quietly looks for someone with the natural talent to learn his closely guarded methods of mixing paint and capturing animal likenesses.

Volt is the strict, superstitious leader of the Valley People. He bears heavy red scars on his face from an animal attack in his youth, which fuels his intense hatred for wolf dogs. He feels an enormous responsibility to feed his starving people, causing him to lean heavily on tradition and the fear of evil spirits to maintain order within the camp.

Kala is an elderly woman in the Valley People clan who acts as a caretaker for unwanted children. She relies heavily on Tao to provide food for her hut since she lacks the status and provisions of a hunter's household. She remembers the clan's dark history and guards secrets about Tao's parentage, fearing the consequences if he pushes too hard against the elders' rules.

Ram is a young wolf dog who becomes separated from his pack. A sharp sliver of bone impaled in his jaw prevents him from eating until Tao carefully removes it. Once healed, he proves to be an exceptionally capable hunter. His presence near the clan camp creates immediate danger, as the Valley People believe wolf dogs are evil spirits that bring famine.

Vedra was a woman of the Mountain People who was taken captive by the Valley People during a raid. She possessed a highly creative mind, frequently making jewelry and tools to give away. When the clan leaders demanded her disabled newborn be left in the wilderness for predators, she fought viciously to keep him alive until her death the following winter.

Saxon is a massive, sacred bull revered by the Valley People. The clan views him as the enforcer of tribal law and the judge of those who break serious taboos. Accused individuals are sent into the wild with only a spear and a flint knife to face him.

Garth is a hunter for the Valley People. Like the rest of the men in the clan, he is struggling to find enough game to feed his family and follows Volt's strict rules regarding taboos and hunting territories. He actively participates in the enforcement of the clan's spiritual laws.