Lily is a 22-year-old art history graduate working as an unpaid intern at a large media corporation. She is a Chinese American woman raised in a household where her parents spoke English and served American food, leaving her culturally disconnected from her heritage. She frequently worries about her career prospects and financial security. Her life shifts significantly when she begins dating a wealthy heir, forcing her to confront her discomfort with extreme affluence.

Matthew is the nephew of Lily's boss and an heir to a massive pharmaceutical and philanthropic fortune. He lives in a sparse West Village condo and actively tries to distance himself from his family's corporate legacy, preferring to work in venture capital without using his father's prominent last name. He carries anxiety regarding his family's history of depression and frequently feels uncomfortable with his extreme privilege.

Nick is a high school student growing up with his mother on a remote island off the coast of Washington State. He possesses blonde hair and blue eyes, a physical appearance that contrasts sharply with his mother's Chinese heritage. He feels isolated in his small community and craves a typical adolescent experience, pouring his energy into studying to secure a spot at an East Coast college.

May is a highly intelligent geneticist who immigrated to the United States from rural China. She grew up in a farming family during Mao’s Great Leap Forward and utilized her academic excellence to secure a position at Peking University. She possesses a singular focus on the biological sciences, a passion that deeply influences her career and parenting. She raises her daughter with strict, American-centric expectations.

Timothy is Nick's best friend and a fellow high school student on their remote Washington island. He is intelligent, outspoken, and deeply invested in equality and social justice issues. Unlike Nick, Timothy is unbothered by his outsider status in their small town and frequently challenges his teachers when he perceives historical erasure.

Theresa and Hong are two Asian American women who become close friends with Lily. Theresa is Korean American and Hong is Vietnamese American. Both women grew up in households that maintained strong connections to their respective cultural traditions, food, and languages. This culturally connected upbringing contrasts heavily with Lily's highly Americanized childhood.

Charles is a Chinese immigrant who escapes Maoist China alongside May. Upon arriving in the United States, he enthusiastically adopts American popular culture, food, and television, changing his name to assimilate. He works alongside May in a DNA laboratory in Berkeley.

Ping is a former colleague and classmate of May's from Peking University. He originally hails from a rural part of China and initially presents as a competitive, emotionally distant student before growing close to May. He remains in China after the Cultural Revolution and continues his work as an academic.

Otto is Matthew's father and a wealthy financier who backs significant biological research. He heads a large pharmaceutical company and a philanthropic foundation. He is heavily invested in experimental genetic research, working closely with scientists like May to fund cutting-edge projects.

Sam is Matthew's younger son and Nick's half-brother. He grows up in New York surrounded by the Maier family's immense wealth and privilege. He works at the family's foundation but struggles with a lack of professional direction and deep-seated insecurities regarding his father's affection.

Miranda is a Yale student who meets Nick and Timothy during their college visits. Like Nick, she is biracial, possessing one Black parent and one Chinese parent. She is vocal about her criticisms of elitism and unequal power structures, though she simultaneously participates in exclusive university organizations like secret societies.

Jenna is Matthew's sister and an art attorney. She represents a welcoming presence within the otherwise intimidating Maier family, expressing genuine happiness when Matthew and Lily become engaged. She helps Lily secure employment by connecting her with an interior decorator.

Luke is Lily's coworker at the media corporation where she completes her internship. He is kind and competent, stepping up to volunteer alongside Lily to gather and distribute supplies during a city-wide crisis. He later accompanies her to a company Christmas party.

Levi is Nick's boss at a biotech startup in San Francisco. He oversees a company heavily invested in gene editing and actively seeks massive investments to keep the operation afloat. He hosts lavish parties in Half Moon Bay to court wealthy donors like the Maier family.

Isaiah is a college student at Yale. He dates Miranda during Nick's time on campus, serving as a point of romantic tension while Nick processes his own feelings for her.