Marion is the wife of Russ and mother to four children. To her suburban community, she appears as a traditional stay-at-home mother, but she secretly hides a highly traumatic history from her youth in Los Angeles. Feeling disconnected from her husband and unappreciated by her children, she struggles to maintain the peaceful facade she has cultivated for decades.

Russ is an associate minister at First Reformed Presbyterian Church in New Prospect. He grew up in a strict Mennonite community but now prides himself on his progressive ideals and involvement with marginalized groups. Despite his outward piety, he struggles with intense feelings of jealousy, resentment toward his marriage, and a growing infatuation with a widowed parishioner.

Clem is the eldest Hildebrandt child, currently studying at the University of Illinois. He operates with a strict, inflexible moral code and views the world in absolute terms of right and wrong. His rigid principles often cause him to judge others harshly, particularly his father, while he questions the ethics of holding a student draft deferment during the Vietnam War.

Becky is a high school junior and the most popular girl in New Prospect. She moves through the social dynamics of her school with ease but finds herself drawn to the church's youth group, Crossroads, to get closer to a boy she likes. She recently inherited money from her deceased aunt, creating tension with her parents who wish for her to share it with her brothers.

Perry is a highly intelligent high school sophomore who struggles with feelings of isolation and alienation. He overanalyzes social interactions and morality, finding it difficult to act selflessly without calculating the personal benefit. To cope with his racing mind and feelings of disconnect from his outwardly religious family, he frequently self-medicates with marijuana and seeks out older peers.

Judson is the youngest child in the Hildebrandt family. He remains largely insulated from the intense emotional conflicts that consume his older siblings and parents. He looks up to his brothers and represents a remaining point of innocence within the increasingly fractured household.

Frances is a widowed parishioner at First Reformed Presbyterian Church. She is cheerful, somewhat naive about social dynamics outside her suburban bubble, and deeply appreciative of the church's youth program for her son. She becomes the central focus of Russ's intense romantic fantasies.

Rick is the charismatic youth pastor who leads the Crossroads group at First Reformed. He runs the group using countercultural methods, encouraging emotional vulnerability and radical honesty over traditional scripture study. His effortless popularity with the teens makes him the target of Russ's bitter jealousy.

Tanner is an attractive, popular musician who recently graduated from the local high school. He is highly involved in the Crossroads youth group and attends Sunday services regularly. His presence at the church draws Becky's interest, complicating his existing relationship.

Laura is a high school student, the singer in Tanner's band, and an influential voice in the Crossroads youth group. She holds significant sway among the teens and does not hesitate to challenge authority figures like Russ when she dislikes their leadership style.

Bradley is a former star car salesman who employed Marion during her youth in Los Angeles. Her past involvement with him triggered a severe period of obsession and mental distress, the memories of which still cast a long shadow over her current life in New Prospect.

Sophie is Marion's therapist. She encourages Marion to view her past experiences through the lens of trauma rather than personal sin, offering a progressive, modern perspective that occasionally clashes with Marion's deeply ingrained sense of religious guilt.

Shirley is Marion's recently deceased sister. A former Broadway actress who lived a glamorous life in New York, she openly favored Becky over the other Hildebrandt children and left her a substantial inheritance, causing a financial and emotional rift in the family.

Sharon is Clem's college girlfriend. Because she has a brother actively serving in the military, she possesses a keen awareness of the class disparities inherent in the draft system, significantly influencing Clem's moral worldview and decisions regarding his student deferment.

Theo is the minister of a church in Chicago that partners with First Reformed. He pragmatically manages his community's needs and expects visiting suburbanites to respect the delicate social dynamics of his neighborhood without causing disruptions.

Keith is a Navajo elder who has served as Russ's primary contact for the reservation for decades. Though Russ views him as a close friend, their relationship is largely one-sided, maintained primarily to facilitate the annual Crossroads spring trips.

Clyde is a young Navajo man who deeply resents the presence of the white suburban church groups on his reservation. He is frustrated by the systemic poverty affecting his family and views the visiting teens as clueless tourists exploiting his community's hardship for personal enlightenment.

Dwight is the senior minister at First Reformed. He is a stable, traditional presence in the church, contrasting with the more volatile associate pastors, and hosts holiday gatherings that occasionally expose the underlying tensions in the Hildebrandt family.