A 23-year-old aspiring gallery owner and textile artist living in mid-1980s Boston. Her life is currently on hold as she grieves the disappearance of her fiancé, a doctor missing in Africa. Seeking a fresh purpose, she feels an inexplicable pull toward an abandoned Newberry Street row house she hopes to lease for an art gallery.

A Parisian dressmaker from a long line of women who weave magic into custom bridal gowns, promising happy endings they are supposedly cursed to never experience themselves. After surviving World War II and a devastating 1981 fire that destroyed her Boston shop, she lives a reclusive life. She eventually agrees to lease her old row house to a young artist.

Rory's perfectly put-together mother, a prominent figure in Boston society. She runs an immaculate household and holds strict expectations for her daughter's education and future. She struggles to understand Rory's artistic ambitions and handles her own difficult past by projecting an image of total control.

A Yale student who left his privileged life in Newport, Rhode Island, to volunteer with the American Field Service during World War II. Working in occupied Paris, he drives ambulances and quietly supports the Resistance. He forms a deep romantic bond with Soline amidst the danger of the war.

Anson's father and a wealthy yacht builder. He is a cold, inhospitable man who values the Purcell family legacy and respectability above all else. He treats outsiders with suspicion and actively works to dictate his children's lives according to his own standards.

Anson's younger sister, a lonely girl living in her wealthy father's massive home following the death of her mother. She craves affection and companionship, eagerly seeking a warm bond with Soline when the young woman arrives from France.

Rory's fiancé, a doctor working with Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan. He disappeared five months prior to the novel's opening during an armed raid, leaving Rory in a state of suspended animation. He originally encouraged her dream of opening an art gallery.

Soline's mother, known as Maman, a Parisian dressmaker who trains her daughter in their family's magical craft. Fearing the German occupation, she strictly prepares for the worst by hoarding supplies while privately battling an advancing illness.

Soline's attorney in Boston. He handles her affairs and gently pushes her to reconnect with the outside world after years of self-imposed isolation following the fire at her shop.

The finest tailor in Boston who loses his business due to an unjust scandal involving his sexual orientation. Finding a kindred spirit in Soline, he partners with her to expand his shop into women's couture.