Meg is an intelligent, observant 11-year-old girl isolated from the other children at her orphanage. She uses a sharp, cynical exterior to protect herself from the daily abuses inflicted by the asylum staff. Despite her tough facade, she secretly hopes for a true family and closely guards memories of her mother.

Birdie is a 24-year-old woman from a struggling rural farm in Footely, Mississippi. Sent to Oxford by her family to secure a loan to pay back taxes, she finds herself volunteering at the local orphanage to pass the time. She possesses practical skills learned from her engineer father and a quiet sense of justice that drives her to intervene when she sees abuse.

Charlie is a desperate, resilient mother who was recently released from the state colony at Ellisville. She carries the trauma of being wrongfully arrested and subjected to state-sanctioned medical procedures. Driven by a fierce love for her daughter, she proves willing to break laws and societal conventions to earn the money required to reunite her family.

Garnett is the severe and hypocritical chairlady of the local orphan asylum. She weaponizes her religious piety and belief in the eugenics movement to punish women and children she deems inferior. Behind her public veneer of respectability, she harbors deep personal resentments that dictate her cruel administrative decisions.

Frances is Birdie's younger sister, married into a prominent Oxford banking family. She is deeply insecure about her rural, middle-class upbringing and spends her time trying to fit in with the wealthy elite. Her desperate need for social approval often makes her insensitive to her family's struggles.

Mrs. Tartt is the widowed matriarch of the respected Tartt family, living in the grand Idlewilde mansion. She values tradition and social decorum but harbors a hidden, pragmatic streak. When faced with sudden financial disaster, she proves surprisingly adaptable to unconventional methods of survival.

Tom is a wealthy, aspiring novelist from a prominent family. He struggles to meet the patriarchal expectations placed upon him by his parents. Though he shows genuine kindness toward his new adoptive daughter, he is easily manipulated by his wife and relies on family money to maintain his lifestyle.

Lucille is a status-conscious woman who manipulates the adoption system to secure family funding. She treats parenting as a performance and insists on strict control over her household's image. She struggles with alcohol use and frequently belittles her husband's ambitions.

Rory is a stressed, evasive banker who married Frances Calhoun. He carries the heavy burden of managing the Tartt family's remaining assets and keeping up appearances in Oxford society. His secretive behavior causes immense strain in his marriage and household.

Jack is a bank manager from Jackson temporarily working in Oxford to audit the local branch. He grew up in poverty, which gives him a compassionate perspective on financial hardship. He proves to be a helpful and non-judgmental presence for the Calhoun sisters.

Dr. Pittman is the town doctor in Oxford and the husband of the powerful chairlady. He generally avoids direct conflict with his wife's crusades but holds enough social and legal authority to intervene in child welfare cases when necessary.

Isabelle is the sharp, controlling matriarch of the Heidelberg family. She uses her immense wealth to dictate the behavior of her adult children and remains highly suspicious of her daughter-in-law's motives.

Big Tom is the large, imposing patriarch of the Heidelberg family. He firmly believes in traditional patriarchal roles and places immense pressure on his son to act as a proper provider.

Doris is Birdie's anxious mother who faces the terrifying prospect of losing the family farm to back taxes. Her desperation forces her to ask her daughters for financial help.

Meemaw is Birdie's grandmother. She provides practical, albeit manipulative, advice on how Birdie should approach her wealthy sister for money during a crisis.

Ava is Meg's 12-year-old former best friend at the orphanage. She was recently sent away to a cannery in Biloxi through the asylum's work program, leaving Meg entirely isolated.

Flossy is an experienced sex worker who responds to Charlie's summons. Having been forced into the trade at a young age to protect her sister, she brings a weary pragmatism and crucial industry knowledge to the new business venture.

Ruby is a volatile and hostile woman from Flossy's past who joins the underground enterprise at Idlewilde. She provides a tough, physical presence that protects the other women when clients become unruly.

Virginia is an educated young woman who brings borrowed university equipment to set up a makeshift medical clinic in the cellar. She provides the workers with vital health screenings and introduces a critical, feminist perspective to the household.

Miss Pripp is a nosy community member and Bible story teacher at the orphanage. She acts as an enforcer for Garnett Pittman's strict moral codes and serves as a conduit for town gossip.

Dorella is a cruel older girl at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum who regularly bullies Meg. She masks her own feelings of abandonment by picking on younger, more vulnerable children.

Willy May is the middle-aged maid for the Heidelberg family. She observes the household's dysfunction quietly and attempts to provide small comforts to Meg while navigating the controlling demands of the family matriarch.