Antonina is a prairie witch and "Vault" living in a boardinghouse above the saloon in Uz, Nebraska. She earns her living by storing the unwanted memories of her clients, functioning as a human bank for trauma. Haunted by her youth at the Milford Home for Unwed Mothers and the loss of her infant son, she maintains a guarded, pessimistic outlook. The sudden loss of her stored memories during the Black Sunday storm threatens her livelihood and safety.

Dell is a determined, athletic teenager who relocates to the drought-stricken town of Uz after her mother is murdered. She channels her grief into basketball, stepping up as the player-coach for the local team, "The Dangers." Resourceful and bold, she approaches the Antidote for an apprenticeship to fund her team's tournament aspirations, inventing a risky plan to counterfeit memories.

Harp is a mild-mannered, middle-aged dryland wheat farmer and the newly elected Grange Master of Uz. While the rest of the region suffers from severe drought and dust storms, his wheat crop inexplicably thrives, bringing him both relief and intense guilt. He is a quiet, observant man who feels a deep sense of responsibility toward his niece and the history of the land he farms.

Cleo is a young African American photographer working for the federal government's Resettlement Administration. Tasked with documenting "dry farming" techniques, she frequently clashes with her boss over artistic integrity. After her original equipment is stolen, she purchases a mysterious camera from a pawn shop and sets up a makeshift darkroom in Harp Oletsky's root cellar, eventually unearthing dangerous local secrets.

The corrupt local law enforcement officer in Uz who uses his authority to control the town and protect his political future. He treats the Antidote's services as a mandatory tax, forcing her to accept memory deposits from criminals and deputies to serve his own administrative and personal cover-ups.

A resilient feline belonging to the sheriff's wife, possessing an unusual level of awareness and agency. She harbors a deep, personal vendetta regarding her past litters and actively inserts herself into the lives of the town's human residents. She operates with a clear, fierce sense of justice and maternal protection.

An inanimate figure erected in Harp Oletsky's wheat field. Following the Black Sunday storm, the scarecrow begins to experience a strange, emerging consciousness, silently observing the natural world and the humans who visit the farm. It waits patiently for acknowledgment from the people around it.

A young, unhoused transient man from Indiana who is convicted of being the "Lucky Rabbit's Foot Killer." His execution is indefinitely postponed when the dust from the Black Sunday storm interferes with the prison's electricity.

The center on the local girls' basketball team, "The Dangers," and Dell's closest friend in Uz. She provides Dell with emotional support and shares her aspirations for winning the upcoming regional tournament.

Harp's late father and an immigrant from Poland. His past actions to secure land and protect his family leave a complicated, secretive legacy that heavily influences his son's life decades later.

Harp's late mother, a Polish immigrant who takes a job cooking at the Genoa US Indian Industrial School. She deeply hates the work due to the abuse she witnesses against the Indigenous children.

Cleo Allfrey's supervisor at the Resettlement Administration in Washington, D.C. He prioritizes strict documentary evidence over artistic expression, frequently destroying Cleo's negatives with a hole punch when they fail to meet his bureaucratic standards.

Harp's sister and Dell's mother. She is believed to be a victim of the notorious Lucky Rabbit's Foot Killer, and her absence casts a long shadow over Dell's daily life.

A local woman who shares a close, intimate connection with Harp Oletsky, providing him with rare moments of companionship away from his farm.

Sheriff Iscoe's new deputy. He is a subordinate officer who is strong-armed into participating in the sheriff's clandestine activities and subsequent memory cover-ups.

Harp Oletsky's neighbor, a fellow dryland farmer who is deeply perplexed by the miraculous success of Harp's wheat crop while his own fields yield nothing but dust.