Herald is a thirty-two-year-old man who arrives in Pittsburgh after years of wandering the roads with his daughter. He was illegally enslaved and held captive by a white man named Joe Turner, a trauma that separated him from his wife and fractured his sense of identity. He now obsessively searches for his wife, hoping her presence will give him a starting place to rebuild his life.

Seth is a Northern-born free man in his early fifties who runs a respectable Pittsburgh boarding house with his wife, Bertha. A skilled metalworker, he crafts pots and pans from sheet metal to supplement his night-shift factory wages. He is deeply protective of his property and seeks to secure a loan to start an independent business, resisting the systemic discrimination he faces in the North.

Bertha is a warm, sensitive woman in her late forties who serves as the nurturing presence of the boarding house. She manages the domestic duties, primarily preparing meals for the transient tenants, and acts as a grounding force for her husband. She offers practical, comforting advice to the younger borders as they endure personal hardships.

Bynum is a root worker in his early sixties and the only character old enough to have been born into slavery. He is a long-term resident at the Holly boarding house who remains deeply connected to his African heritage. He practices spiritual rituals and guides the other boarders as they search for their identities, while personally seeking a mystical figure he calls the 'shiny man.'

Selig is a white peddler in his early fifties who holds a monopoly on Seth's pot-making business. Coming from a family history of slave trading and bounty hunting, he now makes his living trading goods and charging fees as a 'people finder.' He travels a regular route and takes payment from characters looking to locate missing family members.

Jeremy is a smiling, optimistic twenty-five-year-old who recently migrated from the South with his guitar. He seeks pleasure and freedom in the North but quickly encounters exploitative labor practices and aggressive policing. He rejects Seth's cautious, pragmatic approach to survival in favor of living spontaneously.

Mattie is a twenty-six-year-old woman carrying deep emotional pain after the loss of two children and the departure of her partner. She desperately wants to find a lasting relationship and a stable place to belong. Hoping to use magic to fix her broken life, she quickly attaches herself to available men to avoid being alone.

Zonia is the eleven-year-old daughter of Herald and Martha, bearing a striking physical resemblance to her missing mother. She has spent the past four years wandering the roads with her father. She helps around the boarding house to offset their rent and forms a fast connection with a neighboring boy, adapting to her transient lifestyle as best she can.

Reuben is a young boy who lives next door to the Holly boarding house. He catches and sells pigeons to Bynum for his rituals, despite a deceased friend's wish that the birds be set free. He experiences his own spiritual visions and takes a strong liking to Zonia during her short stay.

Molly is a strikingly attractive twenty-six-year-old woman who prefers to keep moving rather than settle down. She is fiercely independent, refusing to work domestic jobs for white people and distrusting men after a past heartbreak. She takes life as it comes and refuses to let anyone tie her down.

Martha is a twenty-eight-year-old woman who previously stayed at the Holly boarding house before moving on with her church. After her husband was illegally enslaved, she waited five years before finally leaving the South to start a new life. She has found deep meaning in religion, using her Christian faith to heal from the trauma of her fractured family.