Holly is a meticulous and highly capable private investigator running the Finders Keepers agency following the death of her mentor. Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she is intensely cautious about the COVID-19 pandemic and relies on careful safety protocols. She carries deep emotional scars from a contentious relationship with her controlling mother but draws on her inner resilience to search for missing woman Bonnie Dahl.

Emily is a retired poetry professor from Bell College who projects a dignified image of an elderly academic. Behind her respectable public persona and claims of physical frailty, she harbors intense prejudices and a highly dangerous nature. She orchestrates brutal acts in the basement of her home alongside her husband.

Rodney is a retired life sciences professor at Bell College who shares his wife's macabre secrets. He suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and a fanatical obsession with meat. Like Emily, he uses his advanced age and seemingly unthreatening demeanor to lure unsuspecting individuals into vulnerable situations.

Charlotte is Holly’s recently deceased mother who died from COVID-19 after attending an anti-mask rally. She was an overbearing parent who constantly sought to direct her daughter's life, viewing Holly as fundamentally fragile. Despite her death, her critical voice continues to echo in Holly's mind during moments of doubt.

Barbara is a bright aspiring poet who uses writing to process past traumatic experiences. She is highly talented and seeks mentorship to hone her craft, leading her into the orbit of local retired academics. Her dedication to poetry provides her with a healthy outlet for her anxieties.

Olivia is an 89-year-old esteemed poet and retired Bell College faculty member. Now frail and facing terminal illness, she possesses a sharp mind and a generous spirit. She accepts her aging with grace and dedicates her remaining time to mentoring young talent in the literary arts.

Bonnie is a 24-year-old librarian at Bell College whose sudden disappearance sparks the central investigation. She is an independent young woman who relies on her bicycle for transportation and maintains a loving but frequently volatile relationship with her mother.

Penny is Bonnie's frantic and determined mother. Dissatisfied with the local police investigation, she hires Holly Gibney. Her grief is compounded by intense guilt over a fierce argument she had with Bonnie shortly before the young woman vanished.

Pete is Holly's partner at the Finders Keepers investigative agency. He is quarantined and suffering from a case of COVID-19, which causes Holly significant anxiety. Despite his illness, he continues to assist with background research from his home.

Jerome is a fellow investigator and trusted friend of Holly who is currently working on a biography of his grandfather. He readily steps in to assist Holly with field interviews and specific disappearance inquiries when her social anxieties hold her back.

Bill is Holly’s deceased mentor and the founder of the Finders Keepers agency. He was the first person to treat Holly with genuine respect and validate her intelligence. Though he passed away from pancreatic cancer, his investigative wisdom continues to guide Holly’s decisions in the field.

Jorge is an openly gay man who teaches creative writing and Latin American Literature at Bell College. He is a helpful and trusting individual whose willingness to assist an elderly couple with a wheelchair places him in severe danger.

Ellen is a quiet, resilient young woman who works as a janitor at Bell College. Having survived severe past trauma and estrangement from her deeply religious family, she maintains her strong personal convictions, including a strict vegan diet, even under extreme duress.

Peter is a local teenager who disappeared mysteriously. The police largely dismissed his case as a runaway incident due to his past struggles coping with his mother's alcohol dependency, completely missing the fact that they had recently repaired their bond.

Vera is Peter's grieving mother who struggles with alcohol dependency. She successfully maintained sobriety and repaired her relationship with her son prior to his disappearance, but relapsed heavily when the police failed to find him.

Lakeisha is Bonnie's best friend who works alongside her at the Bell College library. She is fiercely loyal to Bonnie and firmly rejects the local police theory that Bonnie voluntarily ran away from her life.

Izzy is a local police detective originally assigned to Bonnie's disappearance. Overwhelmed by pandemic-related departmental strain and civic unrest in Lowtown, she is grateful to hand the cold case over to Holly's private agency.

Cary is a young man who works at the local Strike Em Out bowling alley. His instinct to assist an elderly couple struggling with a wheelchair leads him directly into a dangerous trap.

Imani is an elderly woman who lives in the trailer park where Ellen Craslow resided. She provides Holly with crucial background information about Ellen's tragic past and the highly suspicious circumstances surrounding her sudden departure.

Emilio is the clerk working at the Jet Mart convenience store. He is the last person known to have spoken with Bonnie Dahl before she vanished and later provides Holly with valuable clues about other missing locals.

Henry is Holly's elderly uncle and Charlotte's brother. Suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease, he shares his late sister's condescending view of Holly, treating her as a fragile child who requires family control.