Everett is a middle-aged writer compiling a fragmented notebook that mixes personal experiences, historical accounts, and theological musings. He wrestles with the monumental task of writing a novel that comprehends twentieth-century history and God's place within it. To achieve this, he fictionalizes the lives of his friends and historical figures to find narrative shape, often struggling with his own cynicism.

Thomas is an Episcopal priest serving a flagging congregation in New York's East Village. He faces disciplinary action from church leadership due to his profound crisis of faith and his open questioning of traditional doctrine. When an eight-foot cross vanishes from his altar, he treats the theft as a spiritual sign to search for a new understanding of God.

Sarah is a thoughtful, serious rabbi who runs a small, radical synagogue dedicated to Experimental Judaism. She seeks to reinvent Jewish faith by subjecting tradition to modern rational scrutiny. Her religious practice is heavily influenced by her family's history, leading her to strip away doctrinal excess to find raw awe.

Yehoshua is Sarah Blumenthal's father, portrayed in Everett's historical fiction during his childhood in a World War II ghetto. After his academic parents disappear, he assumes the identity of a dead boy to survive and works as a runner for the Jewish council, witnessing the systematic destruction of his community.

Joshua is a practitioner and rabbi of Evolutionary Judaism, which he runs out of his home with his wife, Sarah. He discovers Thomas's stolen cross left on his synagogue's roof and worries the act is an antisemitic threat against their unorthodox sect.

Moira is a woman trapped in a tense marriage to a powerful, anxious CEO. She begins an affair with Everett, quickly becoming involuntary source material for his writing as he fictionalizes their relationship into a dark, controlling movie script.

Srebnitsky is an elderly tailor in the Jewish ghetto whose family was killed by Germans before the ghetto was established. He provides shelter for Yehoshua but maintains a deeply cynical view of religion, advising the boy to recognize the hypocrisy in biblical texts.

Schmitz is a cruel German S.S. officer stationed in the ghetto where Yehoshua lives. He frequently demands labor and goods from the Jewish residents without compensation, enforcing a brutal and dehumanizing occupation.

Mr. Barbanel is a member of the Jewish council in the ghetto who secretly compiles a meticulous diary functioning as a historical archive. He operates a clandestine radio and takes significant personal risks to document the community's experience under Nazi occupation.

Miss Margolin is a young nurse working in the ghetto hospital. She assists in smuggling pregnant women out of the area and initially safeguards Mr. Barbanel's historical records until the hospital is compromised.

Ben is Everett's father, depicted during his service in the Navy during World War I. He serves as a land observer and runner in the trenches, witnessing severe combat conditions while relying on his immigrant heritage to survive.

Ronald is Everett's brother, who serves as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crew member during World War II. He experiences horrific aerial combat, survives a crash landing in enemy territory, and relies on the French resistance for survival.

Ruth is Everett's mother, who lives through the Great Depression. She provides a foundational anchor for Everett's musings on his family's history across the twentieth century.

Murray is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and Everett's former high school classmate. He actively questions ancient religious frameworks, attempting to reconcile advanced scientific understanding with the concept of God.

John is Thomas's father and a fellow member of the clergy. His rigid adherence to institutional authority and involvement in formal heresy charges against a radical bishop serve as a lifelong point of contention for his son.

B. is a film director and friend of Everett. He struggles with the unpredictable, dark consequences of his artistic choices, feeling immense guilt over an actress's real-life tragedy after casting her in a violent slasher film.