Alma is a successful Dominican American author who achieves tenure at a university and buys a home in Vermont. After her writer-friend dies following a mental health crisis linked to an unfinished manuscript, Alma fears a similar fate and decides to end her literary career. She claims a parcel of inherited land in the Dominican Republic and builds a literal cemetery to bury her unfinished drafts, including stories about her father and a former Dominican First Lady. She often writes under the pseudonym Scheherazade to avoid angering her family with fictionalized truths.

Filomena is a quiet, middle-aged Dominican woman who works as a church custodian and elder care provider before Alma hires her as the cemetery caretaker. Her neighbors view her as a simple, illiterate woman with no real past, completely unaware of the deep emotional wounds she carries from her childhood. She possesses a unique capacity to listen without judgment, which makes her the ideal guardian for the cemetery's buried stories.

Manuel is Alma's recently deceased father, a Dominican doctor who fled to the United States to escape the brutal Trujillo dictatorship. As a child, he invented an imaginary world called Alfa Calenda with his mother to escape his abusive father. In his final years, his dementia causes him to repeatedly call out a mysterious name, leaving his daughters with unresolved questions about his heavily guarded past.

Bienvenida is a historical figure and the first wife of the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Alma has long been fascinated by her life, ultimately burying the unfinished manuscript about her in the story cemetery. Known for her gentle and romantic nature, Bienvenida struggles to reconcile her kind disposition with the cruelty of the man she loves, eventually facing isolation and exile.

Perla is Filomena's older sister. Known for her striking beauty, she attracts the attention of Tesoro, who eventually moves her from the countryside to the capital and then to New York. She works hard to establish an American life for her two sons but suffers from deep distress caused by her husband's frequent absences and lack of loyalty.

Tesoro is a charming Dominican man from a relatively comfortable family in the capital. He courts Perla and brings her to his parents' house, later orchestrating their move to New York for a better life. Despite helping his family achieve financial stability, he is frequently absent from home and maintains a complicated relationship with loyalty.

Pepito is a successful university professor who studies literature. He spends his early childhood in the Dominican Republic with his aunt Filomena, forming a maternal bond with her before his parents bring him to the United States. He attempts to teach his mother to read and later takes an active role in managing his family's frequent crises.

Known universally as El Jefe, Trujillo is the ruthless dictator of the Dominican Republic. His brutal regime forces dissidents like Manuel into exile and commands terror across the nation. He is manipulative in his personal life, controlling his wife Bienvenida while openly maintaining mistresses and discarding political alliances when convenient.

Brava is a Dominican artist and a close friend to Alma. She designs the physical markers, busts, and snow globes that serve as tombstones for the unwritten stories. Brava acts as a sounding board for Alma, arguing that oral traditions are just as powerful as written books and encouraging Alma to retain her identity as a storyteller.

Lucía is Manuel's wife and Alma's mother. She comes from a wealthier Dominican family that initially disapproves of Manuel due to his lack of money and status as a political exile. She is a practical woman who eventually works for the United Nations, but she harbors a deep dislike for Alma's writing, believing that airing family history brings shame upon them.

The Writer-Friend is a successful author who serves as an early mentor to Alma. She becomes entirely consumed by an unwritten story about a character named Clio. Her inability to finish the narrative leads to a severe mental health crisis and her eventual death, serving as the cautionary tale that prompts Alma to burn her own unfinished works.

Piedad is one of Alma's sisters. She helps coordinate the family's legal and financial affairs following their father's death. She frequently checks in on Alma and helps organize the sisters' visit to the Dominican Republic to finalize the estate.

Consuelo is another of Alma's sisters. She is somewhat skeptical of Alma's eccentricities and frequently questions how the cemetery of untold stories operates during their visit to the Dominican Republic.

Amparo is Alma's sister. She initially manages their father's care but struggles with financial organization, prompting the sisters to move him to the United States. She joins her sisters in the Dominican Republic to settle his estate.

Martillo, nicknamed the Hammer, is the Cruz family attorney. He manages the legal complexities of Manuel's dual citizenship and oversees the execution of the estate, including a mysterious set of automatic payments arranged by Manuel before his death.

Tatica is a Dominican woman from a rural village who appears in Manuel's past. She remains a mystery to his daughters, who frequently speculate about her identity. Her true connection to Manuel represents one of his most deeply buried secrets.

Joaquín is Bienvenida's cousin. After Trujillo is impressed by a poem Joaquín recites at their civil wedding, Joaquín is hired by the dictator. He quickly ascends to become Trujillo's right-hand man, frequently serving as the sole source of news for Bienvenida during her isolation.

Dr. Beale is an older American physician who speaks Spanish due to her experiences in the Spanish Civil War. She employs Manuel as an aide while he studies for his medical exams and offers profound sympathy to Bienvenida, recognizing the impossible situations faced by those escaping dictatorships.

Odette is the daughter of Bienvenida and Trujillo. Raised partly in convent schools, she becomes the center of Bienvenida's world. Trujillo frequently uses custody of Odette as leverage to control Bienvenida's movements and relationships.

Arístides is a widowed former police officer hired to guard the wealthy guests at a New York hotel. He befriends Bienvenida, ultimately saving her life during a moment of deep despair, and offers her a chance at a normal, happy relationship away from Trujillo's shadow.

Lena is Tesoro's sister. She helps manage her father's household in the Dominican capital and initially expects Perla and Filomena to work as maids. She later relies heavily on Filomena to care for her mother as dementia sets in.

Padre Regino is the local Catholic priest in the Dominican neighborhood where Filomena lives. He listens to her confessions and offers theological advice, though Filomena often keeps the supernatural elements of the cemetery hidden from him out of fear that he will deem them un-Christian.