A second-generation Canadian girl who quietly observes her immigrant family's cultural divide. Unlike her older brother, she easily adapts to her Canadian environment and lacks a deep connection to her parents' homeland of Malaysia. She prefers keeping her modern home environment clean and airy, contrasting with the heavily scented, traditional cooking of her family.

An immigrant from Malaysia who painstakingly holds onto his cultural roots through food. He expresses his love and memory of his homeland through his focused approach to cooking, which serves as his primary comfort in a foreign country. He experiences intense frustration over his son's assimilation into Canadian culture.

The youngest of three sisters in a turbulent household. At six years old, she attentively documents her family's sudden departure from their home with her mother's new lover. She feels intense anger toward the disruption but slowly adjusts to their new life.

A mother who struggles with mental instability in her marriage. She frequently experiences violent outbursts, throwing dishes and breaking windows, leading her to seek escape with a new lover, Tom. As she moves further from her old life, her dramatic emotions begin to settle.

An immigrant who carries deep nostalgia for his home country, often gazing at an old photograph to remember his roots. He attempts to keep his fractured family together despite his wife's volatile behavior, but ultimately watches them leave.

A high school student managing the difficulties of first love and a strained friendship. She often prefers staying at her best friend's house to avoid her own home, but begins pulling away as her friend's behavior becomes increasingly erratic.

The narrator's best friend, who struggles with a deeply unsafe home environment. She develops eating disorders and a dependence on alcohol as she tries to cope with her hidden trauma, constantly changing her hair color in an attempt to assert control over her life.

A woman researching glass fishing floats whose sense of security is shattered when she discovers a letter revealing her husband's enduring love for another woman. She processes her grief by obsessing over global disasters on the news, comparing her marital crisis to floods and plane crashes.

A man quietly grieving the sudden death of a woman he loved from afar. He attempts to maintain his daily routine while silently carrying the weight of his unrequited feelings, ultimately confessing his deep fears of being alone and making terrible mistakes.

A ten-year-old girl living in foster care. She is observant and pragmatic, facing the painful reality of her mother's alcoholism and sudden departure with a mature, realistic outlook. She acts as a quiet source of strength for her older sister.

Lorraine's fourteen-year-old sister. She maintains a tough, stoic exterior that mirrors her father's demeanor, though she secretly carries deep guilt over watching her mother walk away without saying anything to stop her.

A man profoundly shaped by childhood trauma, including the loss of his mother and strict discipline from his father. He lives quietly, moving softly through rooms to avoid notice, until he finds a sense of belonging when he moves in with a new partner.

An outreach nurse known as 'The Protector.' Ten years younger than Harold, she struggles with fears of abandonment stemming from her daughter's father leaving before her child's birth. She fiercely clings to Harold as an anchor for her own stability.

Thea's daughter, who feels increasingly displaced in her own home after Harold moves in. Her mother's new relationship makes her feel superfluous, prompting her to pack her bags and plan an escape with her boyfriend.

A second-generation Canadian who feels the heavy burden of managing her parents' fractured immigrant identities. She fondly remembers childhood days spent hiding in the couches of her father's failing furniture store, Bargain Mart, as she tries to forge her own stable adult life.

Indonesian immigrants to Canada whose marriage deteriorates under financial strain. The father clings to the dream of his homeland and his failing furniture store, while the mother acts as a conciliatory force holding the fragments of the family together.

The narrator's brother, who was born in Malaysia but rapidly loses his connection to his birth country's language. As he nears puberty, he prefers playing soccer and staying away from the house over participating in traditional family meals.

A conciliatory figure in the household who attempts to soothe the frequent cultural friction between her husband and son. She speaks to her husband in his native language to calm him and teaches her daughter about the nature of guilt.

Irene's lover, who takes the family away from their turbulent home. He is patient, handsome, and handles Irene's moods with a calmness her husband lacks. He acts as a stabilizing force for the family on their journey to Oregon.

One of the narrator's older sisters, who shares in the confusion and anger over their mother's affair and the sudden uprooting of their lives. She questions Tom's place in the family unit.

The narrator's first love. His growing involvement with the narrator coincides with the deterioration of her friendship with Paula. He is somewhat uncomfortable with the intensity of the narrator's devotion.

Paula's mother, who breeds and kills rabbits for stew. She maintains a passive, defensive stance regarding the realities of her household, lashing out with intense fury when outsiders threaten to expose her family's issues.

A dark, controlling presence in Paula's home life who creates an entirely unsafe environment for his daughter. His actions drive the central conflict and prompt Paula's downward spiral.

A woman who recently died in a car crash. Prior to her death, she firmly rejected the romantic advances of the narrator's husband, demanding that he pull himself together and ending their friendship.

A logger whose job frequently keeps him away from his family. Following his wife's departure, he dispassionately places his daughters in foster care when he realizes he cannot manage them at his logging camp.

A woman struggling with severe alcoholism. She vacillates between moments of genuine connection with her daughters and destructive behavior, eventually abandoning her family by walking down the street and never returning.

A foster mother who takes in Lorraine and Kathleen. She provides a stable, structured environment for the two sisters after their biological family fractures.

A thirty-one-year-old pilot who takes in a teenage Thea when she becomes pregnant, only to vanish on the day of her ultrasound, leaving behind a lasting scar of abandonment.

Josephine's boyfriend, with whom she plans to leave the suffocation she feels in her mother's newly blended household.

Miriam's husband, who is ten years older than her. He is a restrained, strong man whose simple, predictable routine initially offers Miriam comfort and an escape from her family's complex history.