Mary is an independent woman who lives comfortably in a city girls' club until overhearing gossip about her single status prompts a hasty search for a husband. Relocating to a rural farm in Southern Rhodesia, she faces immediate poverty and isolation. She harbors a deep-seated resentment toward the hot weather, her unceilinged house, and the native workers, struggling to maintain a sense of superiority while living in squalid conditions.

Dick is a mild-mannered rural farmer in Southern Rhodesia who dreams of financial success and a family but suffers from continuous misfortune. Known locally as "Jonah" for his string of agricultural failures, he possesses a stubborn optimism that clashes with his grim reality. He prefers the isolation of the bush to the city and operates his farm with a haphazard, debt-ridden approach.

Moses is a physically imposing native man who works on the Turners' farm. Initially hired as a field hand, he is brought into the main house by Dick to serve as a domestic worker after Mary drives the previous staff away. He responds to Mary's harsh directives with a calm resilience that slowly disrupts the traditional power dynamic of the household.

Charlie is a highly successful farmer and the Turners' closest neighbor. Having started with no money, he built his wealth through harsh management of his land and frequent use of a sjambok (whip) on his workers. He acts as an enforcer of the district's strict social codes and views the Turners' impoverished lifestyle as an insulting threat to the appearance of white superiority in the community.

Tony is a young, newly arrived manager hired to assist on the Turner farm. He brings progressive, modern views on race relations that sharply contrast with the established prejudices of the district. His reliance on books regarding the color question makes him an outsider among the older white farmers, leaving him alienated by the unspoken rules governing the community.

Sergeant Denham is the local law enforcement officer responsible for the farming district. He operates in tandem with wealthy farmers like Charlie Slatter to maintain the status quo. He prioritizes community optics and established racial hierarchies over open investigation, swiftly dismissing any progressive theories that threaten the social order.

Mrs. Slatter is Charlie's wife and a member of the local white farming community. Having experienced poverty herself in the past, she attempts to extend a friendly hand to the newly arrived Mary Turner. When her overtures are rejected, she quickly falls in line with the district's gossiping culture.

Samson is Dick Turner's trusted, long-time house servant. He is accustomed to running the household efficiently under Dick's lenient management, operating with a system of mutual trust regarding food and supplies. His comfortable routine is immediately disrupted when Mary decides to impose strict, penny-pinching rules.

Mary's mother is a dramatic, embittered woman who spent her life struggling against poverty. She frequently clashed with her alcoholic husband and publicly humiliated herself by attacking the local store owner for selling him liquor. Her miserable existence serves as Mary's greatest fear and cautionary tale.

Mary's father is a severe alcoholic who drained his family's meager resources to fund his drinking habit. He represents the root of Mary's profound aversion to rural stores and poverty, leaving a legacy of shame and fear that influences her adult choices.