Edie is a fifteen-year-old girl from a large rural family who works as hired help in the modern home of the Peebles family. Practical, grounded, and observant, she enjoys the conveniences of her employer's home and indulges in private fantasies about adulthood and romance. She prefers her own company to the drama of those around her, allowing her to quietly observe the social dynamics of the adults.

Chris is a restless former soldier and pilot who uses the local fairground to sell plane rides. Discontented with civilian life, he prefers a transient existence, living in a tent and charming the locals. He brings a sense of worldly experience to the quiet rural community.

Alice is an educated, city-born nurse who treated Chris during the war. She focuses heavily on maintaining her long engagement and status, often looking down on the rural residents. Her anxiety over her relationship makes her quick to judge and fiercely protective of her claim on the pilot.

Mrs. Peebles is a middle-class city woman who has relocated to the country with her husband. Unaccustomed to domestic labor and lacking country survival skills, she relies heavily on Edie to manage her household. She easily bores of rural life and deeply concerns herself with maintaining appearances and class distinctions.

Loretta is a local countrywoman and mother of seven who frequently visits the Peebles household. Though she presents herself as a self-sacrificing mother, she acts highly meddlesome, prone to gossiping, and eager to insert herself into the drama of her wealthier neighbors. She operates as a self-appointed moral judge within the community.

Dr. Peebles is a middle-class animal doctor who purchases a country farm for his family to live on. He maintains a calm, reassuring demeanor typical of a medical professional and generally stays out of the domestic and social dramas that consume the household.

Carmichael is the local mailman who comes from a large family in town, identifiable by his protruding upper lip. He drives his route in all weather conditions and provides a reliable, steady presence in the community, quietly observing the residents on his route.

Muriel is Edie's friend who remains back at the farming community while Edie works for the Peebles. She represents the rural, grounded life that Edie steps away from when entering the modern Peebles household.