Uma is a graduate student preparing to visit her parents in India. She struggles with secrets about her family dynamic and her relationship with her boyfriend, Ramon. When the earthquake traps the group, she draws inspiration from her reading assignment to propose they share personal stories to maintain calm.

Cameron is an African American military veteran who assumes an unofficial leadership position among the survivors. He applies his tactical training to assess exits, ration supplies, and maintain order. He carries deep guilt from his past and relies on a rapidly depleting asthma inhaler for survival.

Tariq is a young Muslim man deeply affected by post-9/11 discrimination against his family's janitorial business. He feels alienated from American culture and increasingly drawn to his religious roots. His desire to prove himself often results in impulsive, aggressive behavior toward the other survivors.

Mr. Pritchett is a Caucasian accountant who plans a trip to an Indian palace hotel to revive his struggling marriage. He conceals a difficult childhood defined by poverty and emotional neglect, which shaped his current detached, efficient demeanor. He struggles to understand his wife's profound unhappiness.

Mrs. Pritchett lives a comfortable but profoundly empty life. She recently survived a suicide attempt and views the upcoming trip to India as an opportunity to completely abandon her current existence. She relies heavily on anti-anxiety medication and feels entirely disconnected from her husband.

Malathi is an employee at the Indian Consulate who works there as a consequence of her controversial actions at a beauty salon back home. She refuses to conform to traditional expectations of marriage, instead harboring ambitions to open her own business. She engages in a secret workplace romance with her married boss.

Mr. Mangalam is a consulate official who married into wealth to elevate his family's social standing. He feels trapped in a loveless, demeaning marriage and hides a bottle of bourbon in his office filing cabinet. He actively flirts with his subordinate, Malathi.

Jiang is an elderly woman who grew up in Calcutta's Chinatown before immigrating to the United States. She surprises the group by speaking fluent English when she volunteers to tell the first story. She plans to travel to India to reunite with her brother and revisit the location of her first romance.

Lily is Jiang's teenage granddaughter. She formerly lived in the shadow of her successful older brother before discovering her own strong talent for playing the flute. She acts as a calming presence in the trapped group, assisting Cameron with medical tasks and offering comfort to Tariq.

Ramon is a university scientist and Uma's boyfriend. He remains completely unaware of the exact reasons she travels to India without him.

Mohit Das is a handsome young Indian man who buys expensive shoes from Jiang's family business in 1962 Calcutta. He becomes her first true love before political tensions force them apart.

Mr. Chan is the man Jiang marries after she flees India for the United States. He provides her with stability and understanding as they build a grocery business together in America.

Lance's Mother is a single parent who works long hours and struggles with severe fatigue. She reads library books with her son on weekends but often neglects his daily emotional and physical needs.

Marvin is the boyfriend of Lance's mother. He intensely dislikes pets and creates a hostile environment in their apartment, directly causing a traumatic event in Lance's childhood.

Mary Lou is a cafeteria worker and neighbor to Lance during his youth. She recognizes his high aptitude for numbers and supplies him with stolen math workbooks to encourage his talent.

Lola is the owner of Miss Lola's Lovely Ladies Salon in India. She employs Malathi and surprisingly supports her when a major confrontation with a wealthy client occurs.

Mrs. Balan is an excessively wealthy and haughty salon customer. Her cruel physical treatment of a young servant girl provokes Malathi into taking drastic, career-ending action against her.

Ravi is Mrs. Balan's son, who prefers tutoring marginalized students over joining the family business. His direct intervention saves Nirmala's job temporarily.

Nirmala is a young servant girl employed by the Balan family. Her quiet intelligence draws Ravi's attention, which angers Mrs. Balan and causes Nirmala to be sent away.

Tariq's Father runs a family janitorial service that suffers financially after the September 11 attacks. His sudden, unexplained arrest deeply traumatizes his family and triggers a severe physical decline.

Ammi is Tariq's mother. She frantically seeks legal help and community support when authorities detain her husband without cause.

Farah is an Indian scholarship student and Tariq's girlfriend. She actively challenges his lack of knowledge regarding his religious heritage and pushes him toward deeper cultural awareness.

Ali is a friend of Tariq who offers him housing when his family considers leaving the country. His rental home is filled with political pamphlets and handmade signs.

Mark is Lily's older brother, originally aspiring to be a cancer researcher. His academic failures and dangerous behavior heavily influence Lily's decision to stop playing the flute.

Naina is the daughter of a government official and Mr. Mangalam's wife. She leverages her higher social status to belittle him and exert strict control over his career.

Latika is an accountant who forms a close bond with Mr. Mangalam. Their relationship becomes a secret affair that Naina violently disrupts using her family's political connections.

Imani is Cameron's high school girlfriend who worked at a fast-food restaurant. Her unplanned pregnancy and subsequent abortion leave Cameron with decades of lingering guilt.

Jeff is a man Cameron considers a holy figure, whom he frequently encounters on the bus. He encourages Cameron to sponsor a child overseas as a path toward personal absolution.

Seva is a young girl living in an Indian orphanage. Cameron sponsors her for years and finally packs his suitcase with toys to meet her in person.

Uma's Father is an Indian immigrant who recently relocated back to his home country. His sudden phone call announcing a desired divorce throws Uma into a temporary emotional tailspin.

Uma's Mother recently returned to India with her husband. She remains completely unaware that he briefly planned to divorce her while Uma was in college.

Jeri is a woman from Uma's college kickboxing class. She accompanies Uma on an erratic, drug-fueled road trip that ends under the northern lights.

Debbie is a childhood friend of Mrs. Pritchett. Decades ago, the two shared a peach pie and discussed running a bakery together before Mrs. Pritchett chose a traditional marriage instead.