Clare is a light-skinned Jamaican-American woman who experiences a fractured sense of belonging. Born in Jamaica, she relocates to New York with her family before eventually pursuing art history studies in London. She frequently feels isolated by her mixed heritage and seeks a sense of home and cultural identity across different continents.

Boy is Clare's light-skinned father who strongly identifies with his British ancestry. When he moves his family to the United States during the Jim Crow era, he actively attempts to pass as white. He expects his wife and daughters to sever ties with their Jamaican past and assimilate fully into American society.

Kitty is Clare's darker-skinned mother, a rural Afro-creole woman with profound ties to Jamaica. While initially deferring to her husband's choices, she feels increasingly alienated in America. She works in a Brooklyn laundry and subtly resists the racism she encounters daily.

Harry/Harriet is a thoughtful, non-binary genderqueer individual who lives between established social categories. Possessing a deep understanding of Jamaica's troubled colonial history, they serve as an insightful guide for returning residents. They actively challenge oppressive systems and encourage others to confront historical injustices.

Jennie is Clare's younger, darker-skinned sister. She represents a different facet of the Jamaican immigrant experience and physically favors their mother's side of the family. She faces severe challenges when forced to adapt to environments hostile to her identity.

Bobby is a Black American veteran of the Vietnam War who travels through Europe. He suffers from persistent physical and mental trauma stemming from his military service. He carries an open, unhealing wound on his ankle that physically manifests his internal distress.

Christopher is a disenfranchised Jamaican man who grew up in extreme poverty in a Kingston slum called the Dungle. Taken in by an affluent family as a live-in worker, he exists in a precarious social position. He harbors unresolved grief regarding his late grandmother and searches for a way to honor her memory.

Paul is an affluent young Jamaican man who belongs to the upper-crust social circles in Kingston. He enjoys a life of privilege, completely insulated from the extreme poverty that surrounds his family's estate.

Mr. B. is the owner of a Brooklyn laundry business who employs the Savage family after their arrival in New York. He distributes marketing materials featuring an idealized white housewife, oblivious to the exclusionary nature of his advertising.

Brother Josephus is a traveling preacher who visits the impoverished Dungle neighborhood. He delivers radical sermons that reject European depictions of religious figures, preaching instead about a deity who reflects the physical realities of the local population.

Master Charles is the wealthy patriarch of a Kingston household. He brings a young, impoverished boy onto his property to work, maintaining strict boundaries regarding class and property ownership.

Mavis is a domestic servant employed by a wealthy Kingston family. She maintains strict loyalty to her employers, creating friction with other workers who feel a stronger allegiance to their shared class background.

Miss Mattie is Kitty's adoptive mother in Jamaica. Her passing removes the primary anchor keeping the Savage family in their homeland, precipitating their move to the United States.

Hyacinth is the adopted mother of Harry/Harriet. She provides a safe haven when biological relatives fail to offer protection, understanding the precarious nature of living outside societal norms in Jamaica.

Miss Peterkin is a white American history teacher working in Jamaica. Her complete lack of critical media literacy impacts her students' understanding of history and representation.

Miss Cherry is a local post-mistress who recognizes Clare from her childhood. She observes the deteriorating economic conditions of the region while maintaining a warm connection to the community's history.

Liz is an English university student who befriends Clare. She invites her friend to visit her old boarding school in Gravesend, though she remains indifferent to the political and racial tensions that deeply affect her peer.