A devout Latter-day Saint whose faith and worldview are tested by personal tragedies and unsettling truths, leading her to grapple with her beliefs.

An enslaved Bannock woman navigating multiple layers of oppression, who uses her keen observation and strategic thinking to reclaim her agency.

A young girl who witnesses a traumatic event and is adopted into a new family, struggling with a hidden past and fragmented memories.

A hardworking husband and father whose participation in a violent act under religious orders profoundly impacts him and his family life.

A Paiute man with a strong moral compass, caught between familial duties and his own compassionate instincts, leading him to critical decisions.

A fiery religious leader whose sermons fuel community tensions, using his authority to manipulate personal loss into political action.

A local leader who combines military and ecclesiastical authority, making pivotal decisions that escalate the novel's central conflict.

An on-the-ground commander who orchestrates deceitful negotiations, embodying the conflict's chilling duplicity.

A volatile and mistrustful family member whose suspicions and confrontations with the local population heighten tensions on the journey.