Maureen is a 39-year-old white South African housewife of British heritage who formerly lived in a comfortable, seven-room house in a Johannesburg suburb. Raised as the daughter of a gold mine shift boss, she considers herself politically progressive. Now hiding in a rural village after fleeing a violent civil war, she struggles with the loss of her privileged lifestyle and the collapse of her carefully curated self-image.

Bamford is a formerly prestigious, internationally known architect of Dutch colonizer descent. Accustomed to a life of affluence, he identifies as a liberal and a pacifist who previously refused to own a revolver for defense. Stripped of his career, he tries to make himself useful in the rural village by fixing crude farm tools and rigging a rainwater tank.

July is a Black South African man in his thirties who worked for the Smales family in Johannesburg for 15 years, handling the intimate tasks of their household. Hailing from a remote rural village, he rescues his former employers from the civil war by hiding them in his mother's mud hut. In his home community, he balances a shifting power dynamic with the white family while facing skepticism from his own relatives.

Martha is July's wife, a rural woman who has managed her family largely without him during his 15 years working in the city. She is pregnant and already cares for several children. Distrustful of her husband's life in Johannesburg, she actively resents the Smales family's arrival, which brings danger and extra mouths to feed to her village.

July's mother is an elder in the village who originally inhabited the mud hut now occupied by the Smales family. She struggles to understand why the white family cannot simply fly away to their own people. She actively opposes the Smaleses' presence and frequently voices her contempt for Maureen's clumsy attempts at agricultural work.

Royce is the youngest son of Maureen and Bamford Smales. Transported from a comfortable suburban life to a remote village, he adapts to his new surroundings more quickly than his parents, forming bonds with the local children and shedding his previous habits.

Victor is the older son of Maureen and Bamford Smales. He occasionally exhibits the entitled attitudes bred by his privileged upbringing, such as expressing anger when local children take old fruit bags. However, he gradually integrates into village life, joining local games and losing interest in his past possessions.

Gina is the daughter of Maureen and Bamford Smales. She rapidly assimilates into the village's communal culture, adopting local childcare customs, picking up the local language, and learning African songs.

Daniel is a young ex-milkman in the village who serves as July's constant companion and driving instructor. He expresses keen interest in the shifting political situation and the end of white governmental authority. He pays particular attention to Bamford's shotgun.

The Chief is the local leader of the territory where July's village is located. Ignorant of English and the broader scope of the civil war, he relies on July to interpret for him. Fearing that the Black insurgents and their foreign allies will take his land, he views the white visitors as a potential source of military defense.

Lydia is a Black house servant who worked for Maureen's family when Maureen was a schoolgirl. Though Maureen viewed her as an equal or a maternal figure, their relationship was fundamentally rooted in servitude, symbolized by Lydia carrying Maureen's heavy book satchel on her head.

Ellen is an office cleaner in Johannesburg who serves as July's town woman or mistress. Because she had herself sterilized, she has no children with July. She sleeps in the yard hut provided by the Smales family, but her whereabouts during the violent uprising remain unknown.

Nyiko is a little girl from the village who befriends the Smaleses' daughter, Gina. She represents the seamless integration of the children across racial and cultural lines.

Nomvula, also known as Nora, is a Xhosa woman who worked as the cook for the Smales family in Johannesburg. She slept with a Zulu man during her employment.

The Headman is the stout, shaved-headed assistant to the local chief. He wears mismatched clothes and issues frosty, formulaic greetings to visitors before directing them to the chief.