John is a steelworker constructing Seattle's last skyscraper. Adopted by white parents as an infant, he lives completely disconnected from his Native heritage. He suffers from severe mental health issues, hearing voices and experiencing vivid hallucinations. His inability to find his place in either white or Native society fuels a growing, dangerous anger.

Marie is a Spokane Indian university student and activist. Raised on a reservation but pushed toward white society by her parents, she struggles to find her place in Seattle. She aggressively challenges cultural appropriation in her classes and volunteers her free time feeding the city's homeless Native population.

Clarence Mather is a white university lecturer who considers himself a definitive expert on Native culture. He dresses in turquoise bolo ties and curates a curriculum filled almost entirely with white authors. He prefers a historical, static view of Native people and patronizes his living Native students when they challenge his authority.

Jack Wilson is an ex-policeman and successful mystery novelist. He claims distant Shilshomish heritage and writes popular books about a fictional Native detective named Aristotle Little Hawk. He uses this assumed identity to fill a void from his difficult childhood in the foster care system, frequently blurring his fantasies with the very real violence gripping Seattle.

The Indian Killer is an unidentified figure terrorizing Seattle. The killer stalks and murders white men, leaving bloody owl feathers at the crime scenes. The media and police assume the killer is a Native American seeking revenge for historical atrocities, igniting a wave of racial paranoia across the city.

Truck Schultz is a conservative talk-radio host. He broadcasts inflammatory rhetoric across Seattle, actively blaming Native Americans for the city's escalating violence. He uses the recent string of murders to boost his ratings and call for vigilante action from his frightened white listeners.

Reggie is Marie's cousin. He grew up under an abusive white father who beat Native history out of him. Now embracing his heritage with furious intensity, Reggie patrols the streets and bars, eager to retaliate against white arrogance and appropriate behavior.

Aaron is a white college student raised with intense prejudice. When his older brother disappears outside an Indian casino, Aaron channels his grief into a vigilante crusade. Armed with a baseball bat and fueled by right-wing radio, he actively hunts innocent Native people in the streets.

David is a young white university student from a farming family. He grew up scaring Natives off his family's property but tries to shed his father's prejudices. His sudden disappearance at an Indian casino ignites the city's racial powder keg.

Olivia is John's adoptive white mother. She researches Native history extensively and tries to provide John with cultural touchstones. Exhausted and fearful, she watches helplessly as her son slips further into isolation and illness.

Daniel is John's adoptive white father. He attempts to bond with his son through basketball but finds himself increasingly isolated as John becomes withdrawn. He deals with his frustration by retreating to his study and listening to talk radio.

Father Duncan is a Spokane Indian and Catholic priest. He embodies the exact cultural divide tearing John apart. His mysterious disappearance into the desert leaves him as a recurring, haunting presence in John's mind.

Buck is the father of David and Aaron. He raised his sons with aggressive prejudice against the Spokane Indians near their family farm, instructing them to defend their camas fields with firearms.

Bird is Reggie's white father. He regularly beat his young son to force him to memorize pro-colonial American history, demanding Reggie suppress his Native identity entirely.

Justin is a white man whose brutal murder early in the narrative sparks widespread panic and media frenzy across Seattle. His death marks the beginning of the Indian Killer's highly publicized spree.

Mark is a six-year-old white boy who is kidnapped from his home by the Indian Killer. He is held captive in a dark space while the killer performs twisted, ceremonial preparations around him.

Paul is a Black worker at a late-night donut shop. He kindly looks out for John during his severe insomniac episodes, providing a rare safe space for the troubled man.

Paul Too is a fellow worker at the donut shop. He understands John's intense paranoia and actively tests John's food to reassure him that it is not poisoned.

Ty is one of Reggie's friends who hangs out at Indian bars and participates in early retaliatory acts. He eventually grows disturbed by how far Reggie is willing to push his violence.

Harley is a deaf Native man and a companion to Reggie. He becomes increasingly uncomfortable with Reggie's escalating anger and eventually walks away from the violence.

Barry is Aaron's college roommate. He participates in attacks against homeless Indians out of a toxic mix of fear and loyalty to Aaron, though he secretly wishes to escape the escalating situation.

Sean is Aaron's other college roommate. He accompanies the group during their violent attacks but grows terrified of the brutality and attempts to back out, resulting in a physical confrontation with Aaron.

Arthur is a Native university student who is brutally attacked by masked men on campus. He exemplifies the collateral damage of the city's racial hostility, using dark humor to cope with his fear of white reprisal.

Eric is a taxi driver and fellow ex-policeman. He ferries Jack Wilson around the city and shares his deep-seated resentments against Native Americans, eagerly defending Wilson from protesters.

Boo is a homeless white man who uses a wheelchair. He helps Marie distribute sandwiches to the city's destitute population and listens to her frustrations regarding cultural appropriation.

Fawn is a beautiful Native woman who frequents the local bar. She dances with John and tries to playfully flirt with him, completely unaware that her actions are sparking Reggie's intense jealousy.

Beautiful Mary was a homeless Native woman whose body was found behind a dumpster. Jack Wilson investigated her brutal murder as a policeman, and the unsolved nature of her death continually feeds his obsession with Native identity and white violence.

Randy Peone is a police officer trying to manage the escalating racial violence in Seattle. He encounters John wandering the streets and attempts to handle him gently while also confronting the inflammatory radio host Truck Schultz.