Marina is an award-winning journalist for United Russia and the single mother of Alyona and Sophia. The sudden disappearance of her daughters leaves her broken and purposeless, triggering severe panic attacks in public spaces. She is overwhelmed by guilt for leaving them unattended but fiercely maintains the hope that they are still alive, pushing back against police theories that they drowned.

Alyona is Marina's eleven-year-old daughter. Mature for her age, she takes her responsibility as an older sister seriously, entertaining Sophia with stories about tsunamis and local legends. She possesses a brave and protective spirit, which she relies on when a stranger's offer for a ride places them in terrible danger.

Sophia is Marina's eight-year-old daughter. She is feisty, innocent, and carefree, acting somewhat immaturely for her age because her mother indulges her. Unaware of social expectations, she looks up to Alyona and relies entirely on her older sister for guidance and protection.

Alla is an indigenous Even woman who heads a cultural center in Esso. Three years before the Golosovskaya sisters vanish, her own eighteen-year-old daughter, Lilia, disappeared. She rejects the local police theory that Lilia ran away, continuously searching for the truth and urging others to take her loss seriously.

Lilia is Alla's youngest daughter, an Even teenager who vanished from Esso three years before the novel begins. Her case received little media attention, and local police quickly dismissed her as a runaway, leaving her family fractured by the unresolved loss and surrounded by harsh local rumors.

Yegor is a seemingly unremarkable man who drives a clean vehicle and lives alone in a northern village. He uses a non-threatening demeanor to disarm his targets, exploiting their kindness to manipulate them into his car.

Natalia is Alla's thirty-one-year-old daughter and a doctoral candidate at the oceanographic institute. She lacks authority over her own children and feels disconnected from her Even heritage. To cope with her family's trauma, she firmly insists that her missing sister simply ran away, refusing to entertain darker possibilities.

Revmira is a nurse in Petropavlovsk and an Even woman who feels increasingly detached from her native roots. She carries a heavy burden of grief from the early death of her first husband, Gleb, and relies on the steady support of her second husband, Artyom, to navigate the dangers of Kamchatka.

Ksenia, known as Ksyusha, is an accounting student and the daughter of an Even reindeer herder from Esso. Introverted and tidy, she finds herself torn between a highly controlling Russian boyfriend who mocks her heritage and a new indigenous dance partner who respects it.

Sergei, called Chegga, is Ksenia's brother and a photographer living in Esso. Stubborn and eager to involve himself in community drama, he develops strong theories about the missing girls. He struggles to provide a stable life for his girlfriend, Nadezhda, and her young daughter.

Ruslan is Ksenia's white Russian boyfriend from Esso. He is highly possessive and demands constant scheduled calls to monitor her whereabouts. He frequently belittles her indigenous culture, masking his control issues as protective concern.

Nadezhda, called Nadia, is a bank employee in Esso who originally hails from Palana. Feeling trapped by poverty and unfulfilling romantic relationships, she desperately dreams of leaving Kamchatka to secure a brighter future for her young child.

Nikolai, known as Koyla, is a police detective in Petropavlovsk handling the high-profile abduction case. While he appears supportive at home, he becomes defensive and short-tempered when his wife or colleagues question his professional competence, especially as leads run dry.

Zoya is Nikolai's wife, currently on maternity leave from a national park job. Bored and feeling isolated in her new role as a mother, she spends her days watching construction workers outside and fantasizing about escaping her mundane reality through dangerous encounters.

Oksana is a researcher at the volcanological institute and the sole witness to the Golosovskaya sisters entering a stranger's car. Deeply attached to her dog, she faces a failing marriage, intense loneliness, and immense guilt over her inability to prevent the kidnapping.

Maxim, or Max, is a researcher at the volcanological institute. He is enthusiastic and attractive but also clumsy and unreliable, briefly volunteering in the search for the missing girls before losing interest to focus on his new romance.

Ekaterina, nicknamed Katya, is a practical, capable customs officer at the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky maritime container port. Her growing physical relationship with Maxim provides a necessary distraction from the tension currently gripping the peninsula.

Anfisa is an administrative assistant for the Kamchatsky police. As a single mother, she bonds with Natalia over the shared challenges of raising children and discussing local rumors regarding the recent disappearances.

Valentina is a school office administrator who idealizes the strict order of the Soviet past. Deeply xenophobic, she uses the missing girls' case to justify isolating her family, all while hiding a frightening medical diagnosis from them to preserve her perfect image.

Diana is Valentina's teenage daughter. Bright but heavily influenced by her mother's prejudices, she abruptly ends a five-year friendship to avoid conflict at home, demonstrating an unpredictable mean streak.

Lada is a hotel receptionist in Petropavlovsk. Cautious about Kamchatka's social dangers, she urges her openly gay friend to hide her orientation, and she awkwardly handles an uncomfortable encounter with an older man at a party.

Olga, nicknamed Olya, is a thirteen-year-old student raised by an independent single mother. Fiercely loyal but socially isolated, she bristles against the paranoid constraints placed on children and feels deeply hurt when her best friend abandons her.

Artyom is a rescuer who has been married to Revmira for twenty-six years. He is a steady, supportive partner who attempts to help his wife's extended family by sending information to the police regarding local missing persons.

Masha is Lada's university friend who now lives in St. Petersburg. Openly gay and refusing to hide her identity, she faces hostility and bigotry when she returns to Kamchatka for the holidays.

Slava, legally Vyacheslav Bychkov, is Nadezhda's ex-boyfriend who abandoned her when she was pregnant. Going through a separation, he attempts to reconnect with her, only to be met with bitterness over his past failures.

Denis is Alla's son and the brother of Natalia and Lilia. He suffers from untreated psychiatric problems, leading him to obsess over UFOs and claim that aliens abducted his missing sister.

Lieutenant Ryakhovsky is a police investigator working the missing persons cases. He is often aggressive and dismissive toward female witnesses, prioritizing the theories of confident locals over actual evidence.

Chander is an indigenous Koryak graduate student from a fishing family in Palana. He distrusts the Russian majority and bonds with his dance partner over their shared heritage and experiences with local prejudice.

Mila is Nadezhda's five-year-old daughter. Unaware of the complex adult problems surrounding her, she represents her mother's desperate hope for a brighter, more secure future far away from their current struggles.

Eva is a supportive friend of Marina who accompanies her to the native New Year festival. She deliberately introduces Marina to another mother experiencing similar grief, hoping to provide her with a supportive connection.

Petya is a friend of Marina who attends the cultural minority festival with her. He offers steady companionship as Marina manages severe anxiety in public spaces following her daughters' disappearance.

Anton is Oksana's husband. Their marriage is steadily deteriorating, leading to profound loneliness for his wife, who ultimately finds more comfort in the companionship of her pet than in her relationship with him.

Malysh is a white dog belonging to Oksana. His sudden escape and disappearance deeply affect his owner, exacerbating her feelings of isolation and mirroring the broader theme of sudden loss affecting the human community.

Gleb is Revmira's first husband, whom she met and fell in love with at university. His tragic death in a car accident decades earlier marked the beginning of a long string of personal losses for her.

Tatyana is Zoya's neighbor who occasionally watches her infant. Highly suspicious of the Central Asian construction workers across the street, she frequently shares local crime gossip and voices her deep distrust of foreigners.

Alisa is Ksenia's cousin and roommate in Petropavlovsk. Outspoken and protective, she actively pushes back against Ruslan's controlling behavior, challenging him directly when he mocks their cultural heritage.

Kristina is a partygoer who hosts a New Year's celebration at a rental house. She attempts to keep the peace when her aggressive cousin starts harassing another guest over her sexual orientation.