A practical young man recently paroled from state prison after serving time for a homicide charge. He returns to his family's farm in Oklahoma only to discover they have been evicted by corporate landowners. Valuing his independence and focusing strictly on day-to-day survival rather than abstract philosophies, he joins his displaced relatives on their desperate migration to California in search of agricultural work.

The steadfast matriarch of the household who assumes increasing leadership responsibilities as traditional structures fail. She operates with an unshakeable moral code that demands hospitality and shared resources, even when her own supplies are critically low. Her primary focus remains keeping her relatives united against the overwhelming pressures of their forced relocation.

A former preacher who abandoned his traditional religious vocation after recognizing the hypocrisy in his actions. He now embraces a humanist philosophy centered on the collective holiness of ordinary people. Seeking to learn from human struggle rather than dictate morality, he accompanies his friends on the harsh road to California.

The eighteen-year-old married daughter of the family who is heavily pregnant with her first child. She spends the early part of the journey absorbed in optimistic plans for a comfortable urban life in California. Her youth and condition make her highly dependent on maternal guidance as she faces the physical toll of migration.

The traditional patriarch who feels increasingly inadequate as his ability to provide for his dependents vanishes. He organizes the initial sale of their farm equipment and places his hope entirely in handbills advertising abundant, high-paying work on the West Coast. The loss of his farm deeply wounds his sense of identity and purpose.

A capable, confident teenager who takes immense pride in his mechanical aptitude. He bears the heavy responsibility of keeping the family's unreliable truck functioning across miles of unforgiving highway. His aspirations largely revolve around finding steady garage work and meeting girls.

A solitary man burdened by immense guilt over his failure to call a doctor for his late wife years ago. He copes with his psychological pain through periods of strict self-denial punctuated by extreme binges. Despite his personal demons, he readily opens his property and resources to his massive, evicted extended family.

The elderly, foul-mouthed patriarch who initially supports the journey but develops a sudden, fierce attachment to the Oklahoma soil. His absolute refusal to leave forces his relatives to medicate his coffee in order to load him onto the truck.

A fiercely devout elderly woman who insists on maintaining religious rituals despite the family's desperate circumstances. She demands prayers at meals and relies entirely on her younger relatives for mobility and survival.

The physically awkward and emotionally detached eldest sibling of the household. He operates outside the usual emotional dynamics of his relatives, carrying out physical labor quietly and remaining distant from their collective anxieties.

A nineteen-year-old youth married into the central family group. He consumes magazines that fill his head with optimistic plans about studying electronics and securing a comfortable existence once they cross the state line.

An evicted tenant farmer who adamantly refuses to join the westward migration, choosing instead to separate from his own family. He survives by hunting wild animals and sleeping in caves to evade the authorities, essentially haunting his stolen farmland.

A displaced traveler from Kansas heading west with his severely ill wife. Recognizing that survival requires cooperation, he eagerly merges his limited resources with another migrating group to ensure mutual progress across the harsh terrain.

A frail migrant woman whose physical condition steadily deteriorates on the road. Despite her intense pain, she demonstrates profound generosity by offering her limited shelter to another family's dying patriarch.

A twelve-year-old girl forced to leave her childhood home. She navigates the confusing transition from agricultural stability to highway vagrancy, spending her time playing with her younger brother to distract from the tension around her.

At ten years old, he is the youngest member of the migrating party. He lacks a complete understanding of the economic forces displacing his family, relying entirely on the protection of the adults during their grueling cross-country journey.