Francis is a mysterious outsider who recently moved to the village of Rivière au Sel. He lacks a formal job, living instead off hidden wealth that draws intense speculation from the locals. A handsome man with a Spanish accent, he attracts the attention of several village women while drawing the ire of the men. His sudden death serves as the central event that unites the village in mourning and reflection.

Mira is the illegitimate daughter of wealthy patriarch Loulou Lameaulnes and a local Black woman, Rosalie. Raised in a large mansion with her half-brothers, she suffers from alienation and bullying due to her heritage and illegitimacy. She seeks refuge in the Gully, finding freedom in its dark waters. Her striking beauty makes her a target of intense jealousy from women and unwanted lust from men in the village.

Aristide is the son of Loulou Lameaulnes and half-brother to Mira. He works in his family's plant nursery business, using his social position to bully workers and assert dominance. He shares a dangerously close bond with his half-sister Mira, and his possessiveness frequently twists into controlling behavior. He views Sancher as a direct threat to his pride and family honor.

Vilma is a bookish teenager from a wealthy East Indian family in Rivière au Sel. She faces rejection from her mother, who favors lighter skin, and indifference from her father, leading her to seek solace in her studies. Defying her family's traditional expectations of arranged marriage, she develops a profound connection with Francis Sancher.

Léocadie is a retired schoolteacher from a politically active, relatively wealthy Black family. In her youth, she dedicated her life to educating the local children, though her privilege often bred resentment among the villagers. Now older and isolated, she harbors bitterness over a lost opportunity for love and dislikes the influx of foreigners in her changing community.

Moïse, known locally as Mosquito, is the village postman who has lived in Rivière au Sel his entire life. The son of a Chinese woman, he endures bullying and social exclusion due to his mixed heritage. He becomes the first person to learn Sancher's real name and helps the newcomer repair a notoriously cursed house.

Mama Sonson is a respected older woman in the village, descended from enslaved African people. She possesses clairvoyant abilities and a deep knowledge of folk medicine, which she occasionally shares with Sancher in the forest. Grounded in her heritage, she relies on traditional remedies and spiritual insight to survive community hardships.

Xantippe is a marginalized Haitian man who lives on the outskirts of the village. Often feared by locals who dismiss him as a zombie, he remains entirely mute due to past trauma involving the loss of his family in a fire. He possesses an intricate, almost spiritual knowledge of the local flora and the dark history of the land.

Loulou is the wealthy patriarch of the Lameaulnes family, running a successful plant nursery. He takes pride in his white Creole ancestry, often adopting a superior and controlling attitude over his household and the broader community. His harsh judgments and marital infidelities alienate his children and wives.

Dinah is Loulou's second wife, originally from the Dutch protectorate of Saint Martin. Sent to Amsterdam to study pharmacy, she was hurriedly married off to Loulou to save face after an unexpected pregnancy. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she feels like a ghost in the grand family mansion, seeking dangerous escapes from her isolation.

Sylvestre is the patriarch of an ambitious East Indian family in Rivière au Sel. Once a neglected child who turned to devout Hinduism, he grew into an attentive father to his sons but largely ignores his daughter Vilma. He prioritizes family reputation and social standing above all else, avoiding conflicts that might risk public shame or imprisonment.

Rosa is Sylvestre's wife, a woman who dreams of European travel rather than her husband's religious traditions. She harbors a deep resentment toward her dark-skinned daughter Vilma, forever grieving the loss of an earlier, lighter-skinned infant. She eventually finds herself strangely drawn to Sancher and his stories.

Carmélien is the son of Sylvestre and Rosa, a reserved young man deeply influenced by his schooling. He harbors an intense, unrequited fixation on Mira Lameaulnes, offering her gifts that she cruelly rejects. He attempts to study medicine in France but returns home, unable to handle the sight of blood.

Joby is the son of Dinah and Loulou, growing up in a fractured household. He resents his father's harsh demands for masculinity and is easily frightened by the local superstitions regarding spirits and curses. He seeks ways to act out against his father's strict expectations.

Dodose is married to Emanuel, a local political figure, but finds her marriage stifling and loveless. After a brief affair with a French man, she gives birth to a son who suffers brain damage. Consumed by guilt, she believes her son's condition is a direct punishment for her marital infidelities.

Sonny is the brain-damaged son of Dodose and Emanuel. Barred from attending formal school, he packs his crayons daily to spy on the other children from afar. Terrified of the night and local spirits, he finds a rare kindness in Sancher, who shares his fear of the dark.

Désinor is an undocumented Haitian handyman who escaped police raids on local plantations to settle in Rivière au Sel. Preferring isolation, he cherishes letters from a friend in America and resents the charity he sometimes requires to survive.

Emile is a local historian and nurse who shares an intellectual bond with Sancher. Unable to afford studies abroad due to financial constraints, he dreams of a place without racial judgment and plans to record an oral history honoring Sancher's legacy.

Lucien is a writer who abandoned his religious upbringing for revolutionary ideals while studying in Paris. He quickly befriends Sancher, initially believing him to be a Cuban revolutionary, and decides to chronicle Sancher's life in a book.

Cyrille is a local storyteller who learns fragments of Sancher's true heritage during their conversations. He acts as an observer to Sancher's fatalistic predictions about his own impending doom.

Isaure is a singer of traditional mazurka and béguine who returned to casual sex work after a failed music career. Known for her light skin and straight hair, she provides a sympathetic ear for Aristide, though she is disappointed when he only wants conversation.