Yi-ping is a Taiwanese woman who married into the powerful Kuomintang-affiliated Wang family at age sixteen. Currently in her eighties and living in Taiwan, she contacts her granddaughter with a startling claim about her long-lost daughter. As a young mother, her life is strictly controlled by her husband and mother-in-law, forcing her to find quiet ways to preserve her hope and maternal love.

Liv is a thirty-five-year-old sous-chef living in self-imposed isolation in Manhattan. Following a traumatic shooting at her restaurant, she experiences severe panic attacks and agoraphobia. Though disconnected from her Taiwanese heritage, she reluctantly agrees to travel to Taiwan to help her grandmother search for a missing relative, seeking a path toward her own recovery.

Po-wei is Yi-ping’s husband and a high-level official within the Kuomintang party in Taiwan. He holds strong patriarchal beliefs and views the birth of a fourth daughter as a superstitious curse responsible for his family's misfortunes. He uses his political influence to enforce his will, operating with unchecked authority within both his household and the broader community.

Yili is Yi-ping’s fourth daughter, taken away as a toddler by her father due to cultural superstitions associating the number four with death. Her sudden disappearance leaves a decades-long void in the family, prompting Yi-ping to search relentlessly for her. She possesses a distinctive heart-shaped birthmark.

Simon is a psychotherapist specializing in trauma who lives in New York. He is traveling to Taiwan for the funeral of his late best friend's grandfather. Calm and observant, he helps Liv manage her anxiety and offers her steady support as they form an unexpected connection abroad.

Ziyi is a native Taiwanese woman who becomes neighbors with Yi-ping in the 1960s. Sharing the isolation of being an outsider in her husband's family, she forms a quiet alliance with Yi-ping. She secretly endures severe domestic abuse, hiding her injuries to protect her children while supporting Yi-ping's search.

Ang-Li is a journalist and the patriarch of the Huang family, whose recent death prompts his relatives to gather in Taiwan for his funeral. He raised his children in Georgia after fleeing Taiwan's martial law era. He leaves behind a journal that holds long-held secrets about his family's past.

Clare is the eldest daughter of Ang-Li and Jin. Having moved back to Taiwan after living in the United States, she holds deep-seated animosity toward the Kuomintang party due to the historical persecution her family faced. She reacts with intense hostility upon learning about Liv's family background.

Felicia is Liv's mother and Yi-ping's youngest daughter. Having immigrated to America and changed her name from Lun-Fei, she is largely detached from the traumatic events of her parents' past and has limited memories of the missing sister, Yili.

Chef Wu is the head chef at 852, the Manhattan restaurant where Liv works. He is credited with saving Liv's life during the workplace shooting by tackling the gunman. He encourages Liv to use her time in Taiwan to reconnect with her cultural roots and rediscover her culinary identity.

Cat is a coworker of Liv's at the 852 restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. Her murder during the violent attack leaves Liv carrying severe survivor's guilt, especially since Cat was covering another colleague's shift that night.

Amy is Liv's friend and former coworker at the 852 restaurant. She has taken time off work to travel across Asia following the violent incident at their workplace. Liv harbors quiet guilt regarding Amy's absence on the night of the shooting.

Abu is Po-wei's mother and the imposing matriarch of the Wang clan. She enforces strict patriarchal and traditional rules within the household, ensuring that the younger wives remain submissive and compliant with the family's superstitions.

Jin is Ang-Li's wife and the mother of his children. During the White Terror era in Taiwan, she is abruptly arrested as a political prisoner. Her imprisonment and subsequent execution devastate her family and set off a chain of events that forces Ang-Li to flee the country with their children.

Wong Tai Tai is a local shop owner who possesses significant information about the neighborhood's residents. Operating in an environment of political fear, she is cautious about sharing what she knows regarding the Kuomintang officials and their actions.

Ken is Simon's late best friend and the grandson of Ang-Li. His tragic death deeply impacted Simon, motivating him to specialize in mental health within Asian communities to help others process their trauma.

Genevieve is Ken's mother and George's wife. She travels to Taiwan for her father-in-law's funeral and helps explain her family's traumatic history with the Kuomintang to Liv, highlighting the enduring pain they carry.

George is Ang-Li's son who was raised in Georgia after the family fled Taiwan. Growing up in America, he remains largely insulated from the tragic circumstances surrounding his mother's death during the White Terror era.

Ah-Ji is Ziyi's loyal housekeeper. She remains devoted to her employer, assisting her through instances of domestic violence and acting as a trusted confidant in a highly dangerous household.

Winston is Yi-ping and Po-wei's youngest child and only son. As the highly anticipated male heir in a deeply patriarchal family, his birth secures Yi-ping's status but also exposes the disparate treatment of male and female children in the Wang household.

Henry is the son of Ang-Li and Jin, living with a visual impairment. He is part of the Huang family that must abruptly uproot their lives and flee to America following his mother's sudden arrest.

Dr. Li is a local physician in Taichung and a suspected political dissident. He resists the authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang and becomes a target of Po-wei, illustrating the arbitrary and dangerous nature of political persecution during the White Terror era.