Darby is a 17-year-old from Defiance, Ohio, sent to New York to attend the Katharine Gibbs secretarial school. Placed on a floor with glamorous fashion models, she feels entirely out of her element and struggles with the strict rules of her new environment. In the 2016 timeline, she is a reclusive original resident of the building who always wears a veil and keeps her past hidden.

Rose is a modern-day journalist who recently left a high-profile network television job for a media start-up called WordMerge. She lives in a gentrified condominium in the Barbizon with her older boyfriend. Dealing with career setbacks and her father's declining health, she feels isolated and begins investigating the building's historical residents to find a meaningful story.

Esme is a Puerto Rican maid and elevator operator at the Barbizon Hotel. Charismatic and fiercely ambitious, she resents the wealthy models she serves and longs to escape her current social standing to become a stage performer. She serves as Darby's entry point into the vibrant and sometimes dangerous downtown bebop jazz scene.

Stella is a beautiful and confident model with the Eileen Ford agency living at the Barbizon in 1952. She understands the transactional nature of the social scene and aims to secure her financial future. In 2016, she is a sharp-tongued, fiercely independent elderly resident who provides Rose with historical context about the building.

Sam is a cook at the Flatted Fifth, a Greenwich Village jazz club owned by his father. He possesses a deep passion for global spices and creative culinary techniques, which regularly puts him at odds with his father's traditional business expectations. He is drawn to Darby's authenticity and offers her a glimpse of life outside societal expectations.

Griff is the New York City Deputy Mayor and Rose's boyfriend. He is a calculating politician who is highly concerned with his public image and his upcoming mayoral campaign. His personal life is complicated by an ex-wife and a troubled teenage daughter, creating a tense domestic situation.

Jason is an experienced videographer and documentarian who has previously covered international conflicts. Assigned to work on the Barbizon story with Rose, he approaches the subject with a direct, grounded perspective. He frequently challenges Rose's journalistic methods and provides a strong professional counterbalance to her work.

Candy is a successful Eileen Ford model residing on the same floor as Darby. She enforces the exclusive social hierarchy of the hotel through snide remarks and intimidation. She actively seeks a wealthy husband and views outsiders like Darby with open disdain.

Tyler is Rose's boss at the media start-up WordMerge. He is primarily interested in sensational, viral content rather than nuanced historical journalism, creating friction when Rose pitches her piece on the original Barbizon residents.

Miranda is Griff's teenage daughter. She struggles with her mental health and harbors a deep hostility toward Rose, viewing her as an unwelcome intrusion into her family's life.

Connie is Griff's ex-wife and Miranda's mother. Her family possesses significant political connections that are beneficial to Griff's mayoral ambitions.

Maddy is Rose's loyal friend. She provides a steady source of comfort and pragmatic advice as Rose faces crises in her career and personal life.

Bird is Darby's small papillon dog. When Darby is out of town and Stella suffers a medical emergency, the responsibility of caring for the dog unexpectedly falls to Rose.

Charlotte is an ambitious friend of Stella's who works in publishing. Coming from an upper-class family with strong connections, she represents a world of professional opportunity built on elite social networking.

Walter is Candy's cousin. He is set up on a disastrous double date with Darby, during which he reveals a predatory nature that shatters Darby's sense of safety in the city.

Mr. Buckley is Sam's father and the owner of the Flatted Fifth jazz club. He maintains traditional expectations for the business and frequently clashes with his son over Sam's culinary experimentation.

Malcolm is Sam's younger brother. In 2016, Rose and Jason seek him out for information about the old Flatted Fifth club and his brother's whereabouts.

Benny Kalai is a prominent spice trader in 1950s New York City. He runs a rare spice emporium that fascinates Sam, though he also operates dangerous clandestine businesses in the downtown scene.

Mrs. Tibbett is the strict headmistress at the Katharine Gibbs secretarial school. She enforces rigid academic and behavioral standards for the young women in her charge.

Gloria is Rose's former boss in network television. She pressured Rose into running an uncorroborated story, leading to a professional scandal that damaged Rose's career while leaving Gloria relatively unscathed.

Darby's mother is a strict woman from Defiance, Ohio. She harbors deep resentments from her past and exerts heavy pressure on Darby to succeed at secretarial school and maintain total respectability.

Rose's elderly father resides in a nursing home. His declining health and dementia cause Rose significant emotional and financial anxiety as she attempts to secure his care.