Olga is a 40-year-old successful wedding planner living in Brooklyn. Raised mostly by her aunt and grandmother after her parents left the picture, she operates with fierce independence. She caters to the ultra-rich while harboring resentment for their privilege, secretly overcharging clients to exact a minor form of vigilante justice. She struggles with feelings of abandonment and carries the heavy burden of her mother's harsh expectations.

Prieto is Olga's 45-year-old brother and a popular congressman representing his home district in Brooklyn. He is deeply invested in his community, finding joy in direct interactions with his constituents. He tries to live up to his family's revolutionary ideals within the political system, but he carries a deeply guarded secret that wealthy developers use to blackmail him into voting against his conscience.

Blanca is Olga and Prieto's absent mother. She is a dedicated Puerto Rican revolutionary who abandoned her family when Olga was a teenager to fight against American colonial control. She corresponds with her children via letters, expressing disappointment that they have not devoted their lives to the liberation movement.

Matteo is a South Slope realtor who meets Olga at a local dive bar. He quit his lucrative Wall Street job to care for his mother during her cancer diagnosis. The ensuing grief led him to develop a hoarding disorder. He offers a non-judgmental, grounded presence in Olga's fast-paced life.

Nick Selby is a powerful, unscrupulous real estate developer. He and his brother invest heavily in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico, using predatory tactics to acquire land. They resort to blackmailing politicians to secure favorable zoning and tax policies.

Dick is a 54-year-old real estate developer. He begins a casual affair with Olga after she plans his daughter's wedding. Arrogant and obsessed with status, he views both Brooklyn neighborhoods and Puerto Rican land strictly as profit opportunities.

Tía Lola is Olga and Prieto's aunt. She works as an accountant and took on the primary responsibility of raising her niece and nephew after Blanca left. She never married and quietly bears the emotional weight of her family's turbulent history while providing a stable foundation for the siblings.

Mabel is Olga's cousin. She is currently overwhelmed by the financial and logistical preparations for her upcoming wedding. She maintains a strained, slightly competitive dynamic with Olga, driven by old family resentments and differing class experiences.

Johnny is Olga and Prieto's late father. He joined the Young Lords alongside Blanca but eventually sought a conventional life, prompting their separation. He struggled with a heroin addiction and later died of AIDS, a tragedy that casts a long shadow over his children.

Abuelita is Olga and Prieto's late grandmother. She provided a loving home in Brooklyn and quietly defied her radical daughter's wishes by introducing Olga to Catholic traditions. She passed away twelve years before the main events of the story.

Reggie is Olga's former boyfriend and a working musician. He has recently become highly active in Puerto Rican decolonization efforts, unexpectedly bringing him into contact with radical political circles.

Jan is a catering captain who frequently works for Olga's business. His sudden suicide early in the story deeply shakes Olga. His Catholic family remains unaware of his sexuality, highlighting themes of secrecy that echo within Olga's own family.

Christian is Jan's boyfriend. He discovers Jan's body and is left struggling to pay rent in the aftermath. He works in the service industry and inadvertently crosses paths with Olga's wealthy clients.

Karen is a trusted associate of Blanca. She operates as a quiet intermediary for revolutionary groups, handling communications on the mainland and occasionally coordinating intimidating message deliveries to uncooperative politicians.

Meegan is Olga's capable assistant at the wedding planning business. She views the wedding industry as a meaningful way to create memories, standing in contrast to Olga's purely transactional approach.

Alex is Prieto's chief of staff. He handles the daily stresses of the congressional office, managing frantic constituent calls and keeping Prieto briefed on protests and legislative developments.

Lourdes is Prieto's daughter. She lives with him in their family's Brooklyn home and provides him with a sense of grounding and unconditional love amid his stressful political career.