Born with one leg shorter than the other, Cal is barred from military service during WWII. This rejection forces him to manage life as a civilian while his peers go off to fight. He works at the local hardware store under his father-in-law and wrestles with feelings of inadequacy. He highly values conformity and feels embarrassed by the local attention his wife's spiritualist activities attract.

Becky is an independent young woman who practices spiritualism and holds séances for the residents of Bonhomie. Unlike her husband, she cares little for social conformity and genuinely believes her abilities help grieving people connect with deceased loved ones. She is deeply empathetic but faces frequent criticism from her family for her unconventional lifestyle.

Raised in an orphanage in Doyle, Ohio, Margaret is an intelligent woman who struggles to adapt to life in a small town. She appreciates art, culture, personal freedom, and city life. She finds the expectations placed on local wives and mothers to be stifling, longing instead for a life characterized by passion rather than conventional domesticity.

Felix is a courteous professional who strives to achieve a respectable middle-class life. He enlists in the Navy as an officer during WWII. Beneath his polished exterior, Felix harbors deeply guarded personal secrets and struggles to connect physically and emotionally with his wife, prioritizing safety and social acceptability over his own desires.

Tom grows up in Bonhomie as a temperamental but intelligent boy with bright red hair. He possesses a fiery personality that often clashes with his mother's distant parenting, though he behaves well for his father and teachers. As he matures, he develops a strong interest in communications and radio, alongside a growing awareness of global political conflicts.

Skip is raised in Bonhomie between working-class and immigrant neighborhoods. As a boy, he is fiercely protective of his friends and possesses a strong sense of justice. In his young adulthood, he drifts through various jobs without a clear sense of direction before facing the reality of the military draft.

Roman and Ida are Becky's parents and established figures in Bonhomie. Roman is a successful, traditional businessman who occasionally displays prejudice. Ida is a practical woman with an unromantic view of marriage. Together, they represent the older generation's emphasis on endurance, stability, and societal expectations over personal fulfillment.

Everett is Cal's father and a World War I veteran. Suffering from untreated post-traumatic stress, he lives in a cluttered house and struggles with severe alcohol addiction. He frequently writes angry letters to political leaders. His erratic behavior and emotional distance deeply affected Cal's upbringing, though Everett maintains a complex, lingering connection to his family.

Lydia is the pragmatic but caring director of an orphanage. She recognizes Margaret's intelligence early on, teaching her administrative skills and eventually helping to arrange her move to Columbus. She does her best to prepare the girls in her care for independent lives.

Augie is a fellow sailor who crosses paths with Felix during their military deployment. He hopes to eventually return home, settle down, and start a traditional family, representing a poignant contrast to the harsh realities of wartime service.

Bishop is an unmarried military veteran who befriends Felix at their blue-collar job. He offers a non-judgmental ear, sharing his own experiences to help Felix cope with the psychological aftermath of the war.

Mrs. Dodson is a neighbor of the Jenkins family. She becomes one of Becky's first spiritualist clients and excitedly shares the experience with others, inadvertently launching Becky's career as the town medium.

Casey is an opportunistic man who travels to Bonhomie under the guise of interviewing Becky for a book. He actually intends to recruit her for a traveling theatrical act, doubting her genuine abilities and viewing spiritualism purely as a profitable performance.