Cora is a mother of four originally from St. Louis higher society who struggles to acclimate to life on the frontier. Following her husband's imprisonment for murder, she is plunged into severe isolation and guilt. Paralyzed by the harshness of the Wyoming wilderness, she must find a way to secure her children's survival during the oncoming winter by asking her bitter rivals for help.

Nettie Mae is the hardened, stoic matriarch of the Webber family who has endured a difficult life on the frontier. She has lost four children to illness and accidents, and survived a harsh marriage to an abusive husband. Her deep grief and strict adherence to religious codes manifest as a bitter exterior, as she fiercely protects her last surviving son from the dangers of the prairie.

Clyde is the sixteen-year-old son of Substance and Nettie Mae Webber, thrust into the role of head of the household after his father's violent death. Unlike his father, Clyde possesses a gentle and empathetic nature, especially in his treatment of the farm's livestock. He struggles with the expectations of manhood on the frontier while attempting to support his mother and their struggling neighbors.

Beulah is the thirteen-year-old eldest daughter of the Bemis family. She possesses a unique, pantheistic worldview and an intuitive connection to the natural environment. While her mother falls into a withdrawn state, Beulah assumes control of the farm, acting as a spiritual anchor for those around her and interpreting the harsh prairie through a lens of natural cycles.

Substance is the abusive and domineering patriarch of the Webber family whose actions set the tragedy in motion. He ruled his farm and family through fear, brute force, and an obsession with control. Even after his death, his influence persists over the community, representing a destructive and rigid approach to life on the frontier.

Ernest is the normally kind and gentle patriarch of the Bemis family. Driven by a sudden, uncharacteristic outburst of passion and jealousy upon discovering his wife's affair, he commits a violent crime. He willingly turns himself in to face justice in Paintrock, leaving his family to fend for themselves through the harsh Wyoming winter.

Charles is one of the younger children in the Bemis household. Like his siblings, he relies entirely on his older sister Beulah and his mother Cora for survival after his father is imprisoned for murder.

Benjamin is a younger son of the Bemis family. He faces the prospect of starvation and a brutal winter when his father is sent away, relying on the tenuous alliance between his family and the Webbers.

Miranda is the youngest daughter of the Bemis family. Her extreme youth and vulnerability remind Nettie Mae of her own deceased children, making her a crucial, unwitting catalyst for softening the bitter divides between the warring households.

Alta is the deceased daughter of Nettie Mae and Substance Webber. Her tragic death by drowning fundamentally altered her mother's life, turning Nettie Mae's marriage cold and instilling a deep, lingering trauma.

Luther is the deceased son of Nettie Mae and Substance Webber. He died from a fever, and his memory haunts Nettie Mae, fueling her intense fear of losing her only remaining son to the elements.

Dr. Cooper is a medical professional residing in the town of Paintrock. He provides crucial medical assistance to the isolated frontier families during times of severe illness and injury.

Wilbur is a traveler and skier from Paintrock who acts as a messenger between the isolated frontier farms and the town during the snowbound winter months, delivering letters and carved wooden gifts from the jail.

Joe Buck is Clyde Webber's horse. The animal provides Clyde with steady, non-judgmental companionship and emotional support, reflecting Clyde's gentle approach to the natural world.