The middle child of Marilyn and James Lee, Lydia bears the heavy burden of her parents' unfulfilled dreams. Inheriting her mother's blue eyes but her father's dark hair, she feels intense pressure to be a popular socialite for her father and a future doctor for her mother. Her sudden disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her body in a local lake force her family to confront the secrets they keep from one another.

A fiercely intelligent woman whose dreams of becoming a doctor were sidelined by an unexpected pregnancy and the societal expectations of the late 1950s. Raised by a home economics teacher who pushed domesticity upon her, Marilyn rebels against traditional gender roles. She focuses all her energy on Lydia, determined that her daughter will achieve the independence she never had.

A professor of American history and the son of Chinese immigrants. James has spent his entire life trying to blend in and overcome the racial prejudice he faced growing up. Harboring deep insecurities about his outsider status, he desperately wants his children to be effortlessly American and popular, projecting these desires most heavily onto Lydia.

Lydia's older brother is a quiet, intelligent high school student with a passion for space and aeronautics. Recently accepted into Harvard, Nath feels neglected by his parents, who overlook his achievements in favor of Lydia. He shares a complicated bond with his sister and harbors a deep resentment toward the local troublemaker, Jack Wolff.

The youngest and most observant member of the Lee family. Accustomed to being overlooked in favor of Lydia, Hannah treats herself as nearly invisible to maintain the household's fragile peace. From her quiet hiding spots under tables and in corners, she notices the family dynamics and unspoken tensions that everyone else misses.

A tall, rebellious high school student who lives with his single mother. With a reputation as a local bad boy and a history of careless romances, Jack is heavily scrutinized by Nath and the surrounding community. He forms an unexpected connection with Lydia, becoming one of the few people she speaks to honestly.

A twenty-three-year-old graduate student and assistant to James Lee. Unlike James, she embraces her Chinese American heritage and frequently cooks traditional foods. She provides James with a sense of ease and cultural familiarity that he lacks in his daily life in Middlewood.

The local police officer assigned to investigate Lydia's disappearance. He initially treats the case as a standard runaway teenager situation, reflecting the town's general lack of understanding regarding the Lee family's unique pressures.

A single mother and the only female doctor at the local hospital in Middlewood. She serves as a stark reminder to Marilyn of the medical career she abandoned. Her status as a working single mother makes her an object of gossip in their conservative community.

A Southern high school home economics teacher who desperately wants her daughter to embrace a traditional domestic life. Her vocal disapproval of Marilyn's ambitions and subsequent marriage to a Chinese American man casts a long shadow over her daughter's life choices.