Sally is a recent widow and the daughter of Patrick Henry. Seeking to relive happier times, she attends the theater but soon finds herself forced into the role of a rescuer and medical advocate. She begins to question the patriarchal society around her as she observes the selfish behavior of the men in her social sphere during a crisis.

Cecily is a 19-year-old girl enslaved by the wealthy Price family in Richmond. She works in the house and faces constant abuse from the family's son. The theater fire presents her with a fleeting but highly dangerous opportunity to change her circumstances by fleeing.

Gilbert is an enslaved blacksmith working to save enough money to buy freedom for himself and his wife. During the fire, he works tirelessly to save trapped theatergoers, putting his own life and savings at risk to help others in his community. He maintains hope for the future despite constant setbacks.

Jack is a 14-year-old orphaned stagehand working for the Placide and Green Theater Company. He is caught between his loyalty to his employers and his own moral conscience when the company leaders pressure him to stay quiet about the events leading up to the fire. His journey forces him to decide what kind of man he wants to become.

Elliott is the cruel and abusive older son of the Price family. He uses his power as a white man in a wealthy family to terrorize Cecily and other enslaved people. He acts with impunity and extreme violence throughout the community.

Archie is Sally's brother-in-law and Margaret's husband. As a gentleman of Richmond, he expects to be deferred to, but his actions during the crisis reveal a self-serving nature. He makes medical decisions for his wife based on appearances rather than her survival.

Margaret is Archie's wife and Sally's sister-in-law. She is caught in the crush of the fire and suffers severe injuries, leaving her completely reliant on the care and advocacy of Sally and local healers while her husband controls her medical choices.

Maria is the 16-year-old daughter of the wealthy Price family. She is somewhat naive to the realities of the people enslaved by her family, though the fire and its traumatic aftermath begin to open her eyes to her older brother's profound cruelty.

Mr. Price is the patriarch of the Price family. He enforces the system of enslavement on his estate and has a volatile, occasionally violent relationship with his adult son.

Mrs. Price is the matriarch of the Price household. She is often caught in the middle of the violent disputes between her husband and her son.

Della is Cecily's mother, an enslaved woman on the Price estate. She is fiercely protective of her daughter and willing to risk her own safety and endure violent retaliation to ensure Cecily's escape.

Cecil is Della's husband and Cecily's father. He is unjustly targeted and imprisoned by the local slave patrol during the panic following the theater fire.

Moses is Cecily's younger brother. He takes great risks to guard Cecily's hiding spot and deliver messages, demonstrating deep loyalty to his family despite the extreme danger.

Sara is Gilbert's wife, an enslaved woman who works as a caregiver for the Mayo-Preston family. She is a maternal figure to Louisa Mayo and waits anxiously for news of her and Gilbert's safety during the crisis.

Elizabeth is Sara's enslaver and Louisa's mother. She relies heavily on Sara to raise her daughter and manage her household, dismissing the humanity of the people she enslaves.

Louisa is Elizabeth Preston's daughter, whom Sara has raised since infancy. She formed a quiet bond with Gilbert Hunt, even secretly teaching him how to read against societal laws.

Kemp is the cruel and controlling owner of the blacksmith shop where Gilbert is enslaved. He is deeply resentful of any praise Gilbert receives and eager to enforce violent racial hierarchies as part of the local slave patrol.

Marcus is an enslaved man working alongside Gilbert at Kemp's smithy. He secretly possesses valuable smithing skills and shares a quiet solidarity with Gilbert against their cruel enslaver.

Placide is the co-manager of the theater company and a former dancer. He attempts to protect the company from legal ruin by orchestrating a massive, dangerous cover-up regarding the fire's true cause.

Mr. Green is one of the managers of the Placide and Green Theater Company. His hasty decision during a performance sparks the massive fire, leaving him incapacitated by guilt and grief when his own family is affected.

Mrs. Green is the wife of the theater manager and an actress in the company. She is devastated by the fire and furious at her husband's role in the tragedy.

Lydia is the daughter of the theater manager. She views the theater company as her extended family and feels deeply betrayed when anyone threatens their collective security.

Anderson is an actor in the theater company who takes it upon himself to enforce Placide's cover-up. He uses physical intimidation and violent coercion to ensure Jack corroborates their false narrative.

West is an actor and the owner of the land where the theater sits. He pushes back against the company's worst impulses and offers Jack a surprisingly honest perspective on their profession.

Professor Girardin is a local intellectual who took Jack in after his father died and secured him a job at the theater. He suffers immense personal loss in the fire.

Mrs. Cowley is a talented local healer passing as Indigenous. She provides critical, highly skilled medical care to the fire victims but is forced to defer to less-competent white male doctors due to the era's racist and sexist laws.

Dr. Foushee is a licensed surgeon in Richmond. He dismisses Mrs. Cowley's expertise and defers entirely to male authority figures when making critical medical decisions, often to the detriment of his female patients.

Dr. McCaw is a physician who works alongside Gilbert Hunt to save multiple women from the burning building before suffering severe injuries himself.

Mrs. Johnston is Dr. McCaw's sister and one of the women saved by Gilbert during the fire. She attempts to leverage her social standing to reward Gilbert for his heroism.

Ritchie is the editor of The Richmond Enquirer, appointed to head the inquest into the fire. He is determined to uncover the truth but is also concerned with restoring order to the city as quickly as possible.

Mr. Scott is a quiet, unsociable new assemblyman from out of town who is grieving the loss of his wife. He is caught in the fire and forms an unexpected connection with Sally during the aftermath.

Samuel is a freedman working for a carriage maker. He uses his resources and knowledge of the city to safely transport fugitives from slavery out of Richmond for a fee.

Augustine is a white sex worker who treats Cecily with surprising normalcy before the fire. She later plays a small but highly consequential role in confirming Cecily's survival to the Price family.

Twaits is an actor in the theater company who enthusiastically supports the lie about a slave revolt, carelessly endangering innocent Black men to protect his own livelihood.