Amma is a middle-aged theater director preparing for the premiere of her historically rooted play, *The Last Amazon of Dahomey*. After decades of living in a squat and operating on the artistic fringe as a young socialist, she adapts to mainstream recognition. She lives in Brixton and raises her teenage daughter in a cooperative parenting arrangement with a male friend.

Yazz is Amma and Roland's nineteen-year-old daughter. She questions her parents' beliefs, criticizing her mother's brand of feminism as outdated and challenging her father's academic reliance on white scholars. She aspires to become a journalist and quickly forms a diverse, close-knit friend group during her first term at university.

Dominique is an artist who co-founded an all-female theater company with Amma before moving to the United States. She follows a charismatic partner to an isolated commune where her independence is systematically stripped away. She eventually establishes a successful women's arts festival in Los Angeles.

Carole is a highly successful banking executive who escaped poverty through strict academic focus. After surviving a traumatic assault at a teenage party, she devoted herself entirely to mathematics and university admissions. She feels out of place among both her wealthy white colleagues and her traditional Nigerian family.

Bummi is a Nigerian immigrant who runs her own cleaning business in London. Though she holds a degree in mathematics, she resorted to cleaning work after her husband's unexpected death. She maintains traditional values and mourns the cultural distance growing between her and her daughter.

LaTisha is a working mother of three who evaluates her past choices with extreme care. Her adolescence spiraled after her father abandoned the family, leading her to underperform at school and fall into difficult relationships. She now relies on her mother and sister to help raise her children while she seeks promotions at work.

Shirley is a veteran schoolteacher working at an underperforming institution in Peckham. She begins her career with high ideals regarding racial equity in education but gradually experiences burnout from crowded classrooms and lack of resources. She copes by selecting one promising student each year to mentor intensively.

Winsome is a Barbadian immigrant who retired to her home country with her husband after decades of working in England. She feels her daughter does not appreciate her comfortable life in London, comparing Shirley's complaints to the severe physical discrimination Winsome faced as a young wife in rural towns.

Penelope is a teacher who discovers in adolescence that she is adopted. She spends her early adulthood molding herself to please her husbands before fighting to return to the workforce. She maintains a rigid worldview regarding class and culture, frequently alienating her younger, more racially sensitive colleagues.

Morgan is a nonbinary social media personality. Raised as a multiracial child by liberal parents who expected them to serve as a symbol of racial tolerance, Morgan turns to the internet for answers about their gender identity. They change their name and pronouns, building a large online following documenting their transition.

Hattie is the ninety-three-year-old matriarch of a rural farm that has belonged to her family for over two centuries. She resents the superficial behavior of her descendants who visit only for the holidays. Having kept the farm operational into her eighties through long-distance walking, she maintains a deep physical attachment to the land.

Grace is Hattie's mother. Raised in an orphanage for girls where she learns domestic skills, she discovers early that her multiracial background limits her employment options to servitude. Her life changes when she meets the heir to a large family farm, beginning a difficult but ultimately rewarding journey into motherhood.

Nzinga is an African American woman who introduces Dominique to a highly regimented lifestyle. She operates under the guise of feminist ideals while demanding total submission from her partner. She issues ultimatums that force Dominique to abandon her career and friends in London.

Roland is a prominent academic and author who frequently appears on television. As the son of working-class immigrants, he resents having his identity essentialized during public debates, preferring to rely on his scholarship. He views his life strictly in terms of the eras before and after his daughter's birth.

Lennox is Shirley's husband, a man who projects an image of utter stability. He actively attempts to bypass racial discrimination in public by wearing formal suits outside of work hours. He is admired by his mother-in-law and relied upon by his wife.

Trey is a young man from Carole and LaTisha's youth. He operates as a ringleader among his peers, instigating events that cause severe, lasting trauma to others in the community.

Omofe is an employee who forms an unexpected connection with her boss. She initiates a domestic arrangement that brings brief comfort into Bummi's strict, work-oriented life.

Joseph is the heir to Greenfields farm who marries Grace after encountering her in town. He strictly manages the family's property and reputation, enforcing harsh rules that require deep sacrifices from his children.

Slim is Hattie's African American husband. Talkative and confident, he integrates into life at Greenfields farm. He spends time in the family library, eventually uncovering historical documents regarding how the farm was originally financed.

Bibi is a trans woman who forms a long-lasting romantic partnership with Morgan. She serves as an essential guide, helping Morgan understand and embrace a nonbinary identity beyond traditional gender constraints.