The narrator is a queer, gender non-conforming mountain lion living under the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles. Feeling neither male nor female, they survive the harsh realities of drought and hunger in a sprawling urban environment. They possess a deep desire for community, seeking connection with unhoused encampments and other creatures while struggling with their innate predator instincts.

Little Slaughter is a teenager living with her famous father, his new wife, and a new baby in a large Los Angeles house. Unafraid of the wild, she embraces magic and the occult, believing she summoned the mountain lion through a spell. She feels alienated from her human family and plans to escape to Santa Fe.

The Man with the Whip is a careless human whose actions repeatedly threaten the safety of Griffith Park's inhabitants. Dressed like Indiana Jones, he uses his weapon for pageantry but represents a genuine danger to the natural environment. His entitlement and disregard for the unhoused population showcase the casual cruelty of city dwellers.

Slaughter is a well-known celebrity who lives in a lush, highly watered Los Angeles estate. He represents the excess and vanity of the wealthy class during a severe drought. Strained by family tensions, he holds little patience for his daughter's eccentricities and maintains heavy prejudices against the unhoused individuals living in the nearby park.

Kill Sharer is a fellow male mountain lion whom the narrator encounters after being chased out of their childhood forest. Unusually generous for an apex predator, he shares his food without demanding anything in return. He provides the narrator with a profound sense of acceptance and romantic connection in a hostile environment.

The narrator's mother is a fierce and nurturing mountain lion who teaches her cub essential survival and hunting skills. Her protective and kind nature provides the narrator with a foundation of love during their early years in the wilderness away from the city.

The narrator's father is a highly territorial and aggressive mountain lion who haunts the narrator's childhood. Viewing his own cub as competition rather than kin, he instills a deep sense of fear and distrust in the narrator. His hostility shapes the narrator's understanding of predators and prey.

Beth is Slaughter's new, younger wife. Preoccupied with her newborn infant, she adds to the tension within the household and serves as a point of resentment for her teenage stepdaughter. She represents the conventional domestic life that Little Slaughter desperately wishes to escape.