Clay is a professor of humanities looking forward to a relaxing family vacation. He is intelligent but struggles with a lackluster work ethic compared to his wife. He views smoking as an open secret and a mild vice. He harbors an underlying anxiety about his own practicality and traditional masculinity when faced with real-world problems.

Amanda is a marketing director who recently received a promotion. She takes pride in her career and finds immense comfort in being connected to the modern world through the internet and her phone. She arranged the Long Island vacation to capture a final moment of childhood with her teenagers, though her reliance on creature comforts causes friction when the unexpected occurs.

G. H. is a wealthy Black financial expert in his early sixties who owns the luxurious Long Island vacation home. He relies on his long experience predicting market trends to make sense of the world, deriving confidence from his wealth and resources. When disaster strikes the city, he attempts to maintain decorum and rationality, though the situation tests his typical reliance on paid professionals.

Ruth is the co-owner of the vacation home, accustomed to the upper-class comforts she and her husband have built. A former employee at a prestigious private school, she is sharp, observant, and deeply concerned for the family she left behind in Massachusetts. She resents being relegated to the downstairs suite of her own house and refuses to play a subservient role to her renters.

Rose is Amanda and Clay's pre-teen daughter, currently at the liminal stage between childhood and adolescence. She feels somewhat ignored by her older brother and parents. An avid reader of young adult dystopian fiction, she views herself as a heroine and approaches the strange occurrences around the rental house with a quiet curiosity.

Archie is Amanda and Clay's almost-16-year-old son. He exhibits typical teenage behaviors, including a burgeoning interest in independence, a tendency to tease his younger sister, and a critical view of his father's attempts at masculinity. Bored by the vacation, he spends his time looking for ways to entertain himself.

Danny is G. H.'s local contractor who manages the renovations and upkeep of the vacation home. He represents a capable, self-sufficient form of traditional masculinity that G. H. respects but lacks. He prioritizes his own family's safety above all else during the crisis.

Maya is G. H. and Ruth's adult daughter who lives in Massachusetts with her wife and children. Though she does not appear on the page, she occupies Ruth's thoughts constantly, serving as the emotional anchor for Ruth's anxiety during the blackout.

Karen is Danny's wife, who shelters in their home with their daughter. She worries anxiously about her son from a previous relationship who is unreachable during the disaster.

Emma is Danny and Karen's four-year-old daughter. She is kept safely indoors when unexpected visitors arrive at their property during the crisis.

Clara is Maya's wife and the mother of Ruth and G. H.'s twin grandchildren. She lives out of state, adding to the older couple's intense feelings of isolation from their loved ones.

Hazel is Rose's wealthy friend who is staying in a much more exclusive part of the Hamptons. Her superior financial status serves as an early point of class comparison for the family.

Rosa is the local housekeeper responsible for maintaining the pristine condition of G. H. and Ruth's rental property. She represents the invisible working-class labor that makes the homeowners' and renters' luxurious lifestyle possible.