Wanderer is a thousand-year-old alien "soul" who has lived eight previous lives on different colonized planets. Unusually experienced among her kind, she is a teacher and storyteller by vocation. She is implanted into a resistant human host and struggles to maintain her loyalty to her own species while experiencing overwhelming human emotions.

Melanie is a 20-year-old human who spent years surviving in the wilderness and evading the alien colonizers. After being captured and implanted with a soul, she refuses to fade from consciousness. She maintains a mental presence within her own body, fiercely protecting the memories of her loved ones from the alien occupying her mind.

Jared is a 29-year-old human resistance survivor living in hiding from the alien colonizers. The strain of living under occupation has made him hardened and deeply mistrustful. He fiercely guards his community and views the colonizing souls as dangerous parasites.

Jamie is Melanie's 14-year-old brother who has grown up hiding from the alien colonizers. Despite the harsh conditions of his life on the run, he maintains a curious and open demeanor. He represents a source of innocent hope for the surviving humans.

Jeb is Melanie's eccentric uncle who anticipated the alien colonization before others believed it was happening. He used his paranoia to construct a hidden bunker system in a subterranean cave network. He acts as the pragmatic and observant leader of a pocket of human survivors.

Ian is a young human survivor in his mid-twenties who escaped civilization with his brother. Living in the hidden caves, he is initially highly aggressive toward any alien presence. However, he possesses an underlying capacity to observe situations from different perspectives.

Kyle is a large, physically imposing human survivor taking refuge in Jeb's cave system. He harbors immense hatred for the souls who have colonized Earth and taken over human bodies. He is quick to violence and believes any alien presence is a direct threat to humanity's continued existence.

The Seeker is an alien soul assigned to capture human resistance fighters and extract information. She specifically targets Wanderer, demanding access to Melanie's hidden memories to locate other human survivors. She operates with an aggressive, relentless approach that is highly unusual for her peaceful species.

Doc is the resident medical professional in the hidden human community. He is tasked with keeping the survivors healthy with extremely limited supplies. He is intensely curious about alien biology and desperate to find a way to reverse the colonization process.

Fords Deep Waters is a Healer among the alien souls, responsible for the delicate surgical process of implanting souls into human hosts. He feels sympathy for the humans and regrets the pain involved in subduing wild insurgents.

Kathy is an alien Comforter, functioning similarly to a human therapist. She arrived on Earth early in the occupation and advises Wanderer on how to handle her resistant human host. She encourages Wanderer to form social connections to suppress the human consciousness.

Maggie is Melanie's aunt who managed to escape the alien colonization. She lives in the hidden cave system with other survivors. The occupation has hardened her, causing her to react with hostility even to the sight of her own niece's body.

Sharon is Melanie's cousin who survived the alien invasion and fled to the hidden caves. Melanie originally traveled to Chicago hoping to find her. Sharon harbors deep resentment toward the souls and actively expresses hostility toward any alien presence.

Walter is an older human survivor living in the hidden cave system. He is gravely ill with what the community suspects is cancer. In his delirium, he provides a rare moment of non-hostile interaction for Wanderer.