Sonia is a young Indian college student and aspiring writer studying literature in Vermont. Her move to the United States leaves her feeling disconnected and alienated by American individualism. Seeking emotional grounding, she looks for meaning through her writing and interactions with others, though her youth and isolation make her vulnerable to older, more assertive personalities. She possesses a quiet ambition to write fiction but struggles to trust her own voice.

Sunny is an Indian journalist living in New York who pursues American residency to establish independence from his overbearing family. Despite achieving markers of success, he feels uncomfortable with the artificiality of his gentrified lifestyle. He constantly questions his own complicity in a system that marginalizes others while trying to secure his own future. His journalistic curiosity often clashes with his personal anxieties regarding identity and privilege.

Babita is Sunny's wealthy, status-conscious mother who resides in Delhi. She is fiercely protective of her relationship with her son, viewing him as her primary defense against isolation. She harbors strong prejudices based on class and covets a Western lifestyle, hoping to eventually join Sunny in the United States. She manages her household with strict authority and frequently clashes with her in-laws over property rights.

Ilan is an older, wealthy painter who maintains residences in Vermont and Mexico. He projects an aura of worldly sophistication that attracts younger, isolated individuals. While he offers artistic mentorship, he is highly demanding and uses his influence to shape the aesthetics and self-perception of those around him. He draws creative energy from creating emotional turmoil in his relationships.

Seher is Sonia's mother, a woman who gradually withdraws from her conventional social circle to pursue intellectual interests. She holds a deep nostalgia for her family's past, particularly the legacy of her German father. Feeling stifled by the expectations of her marriage, she seeks a more authentic existence away from the city.

Manav is Sonia's father, a man deeply concerned with social appearances and the opinions of his peers. He struggles to understand his daughter's emotional difficulties, often dismissing them in favor of a pragmatic worldview. He relies heavily on traditional structures to maintain his sense of self-worth and grows deeply insecure when those structures are challenged.

Ulla is a white American from Prairie Hill, Kansas, who lives with Sunny in Brooklyn. She enjoys engaging with international cultures but often misunderstands the deeper realities of the immigrant experience. She acts as a guide to American manners for Sunny, though her approach sometimes causes friction and exacerbates his feelings of cultural alienation.

Satya is Sunny's childhood friend from India who works as a medical professional in upstate New York. Unlike Sunny, he attempts to maintain strong ties to his cultural heritage and leans into traditional methods, such as arranged marriage, to combat his feelings of isolation in America.

Mina is Sonia's aunt, a woman who lives with her parents following a brief, failed arranged marriage in her youth. Because she was blamed for the divorce, she is considered unlucky by her family. She serves as a cautionary figure for Sonia regarding the restrictive nature of traditional expectations for women.

Dadaji is the Shah family patriarch and a lawyer in Allahabad. Having lifted himself out of poverty through hard work, he possesses a rigid, pragmatic outlook on life. He actively attempts to manage his family's affairs, including leveraging old connections to arrange a marriage for his granddaughter.

Colonel Bhatia is Sunny's grandfather, a retired military man who maintains old social connections. He acts as an intermediary for his family, forwarding correspondence and offering traditional guidance, though he remains somewhat detached from the modern realities of his grandson's life.

Siegfried is Sonia's maternal grandfather, a German painter who traveled to the Himalayas to study the occult before vanishing. His legacy lives on through his estate, Cloud Cottage, and the mystical amulet he crafted, which heavily influences the imagination of his descendants.

Ferooza is Seher's progressive best friend. Having grown up aware of sectarian violence, she values personal authenticity and independence. She supports Seher's decision to leave her marriage and frequently connects the Shah women to professional and social opportunities in the cultural sector.

Ravi is Sunny's uncle and Babita's brother-in-law. Along with his brother, he legally owns the estate where Babita resides. He operates with little regard for principles, frequently clashing with Babita over control and sale of the family property.

Rana is Sunny's uncle, a man heavily involved in questionable financial dealings and debts with the criminal underworld. He seeks to liquidate the family's assets to resolve his complications, bringing him into direct conflict with Babita.

Ratan is Sunny's father, a principled man who refused to participate in corporate corruption and was fired as a result. Though deceased, his honorable legacy stands in sharp contrast to the unprincipled behavior of his surviving brothers and wife.

Marie is an American library supervisor who oversees Sonia's student employment. She is observant and protective, quickly identifying the problematic nature of Sonia's involvement with an older man and offering practical advice.

Armando is a Filipino international student who becomes friends with Sonia over the winter break. He wishes to remain in the United States to live freely as a gay man, sharing Sonia's anxieties regarding visas and residency qualifications.

Leone, often called "Lala," is a New York art gallery owner and a close associate of Ilan. She provides Sonia with a job and a temporary visa as a favor to the painter, operating with a cynical understanding of the art world's transactional nature.

Ba is the matriarch of the Shah family in Allahabad. She harbors a distant relationship with her son and frequently directs passive-aggressive remarks toward her daughter, Mina. She is deeply attached to the family's history and material legacy.

Pooja is an Indian woman who marries Satya following an astrological match. She is shy, deeply modest, and uncertain about her reasons for marriage, struggling to assert her own desires while adapting to her new husband's expectations.

Vinita is a young servant girl placed in Babita's care by her mother in exchange for labor. She works under strict and often exploitative conditions, having her wages withheld under the guise of financial education.

Punita is a young servant working in Babita's home at Panchsheel Park. Like her sister, she is subject to Babita's rigid rules and financial exploitation, remaining highly vulnerable to the volatile dynamics of the household.

Khansama is the long-serving family cook for the Shahs. As the family's fortunes change, he becomes the target of their frustrations, leading him to consider alternative employment offers from rival households.

Darius is a German Iranian actor who fled his home country to escape persecution for his sexuality. He provides Sonia with a fresh perspective on her trauma, encouraging her to use her difficult experiences as material for her art rather than hiding from them.

Maya is the editor-in-chief of *Kala*, a culture magazine in India. She provides Sonia with an entry point into nonfiction journalism, offering assignments that push the young writer to observe and engage with her surroundings.

Madan is a local tour guide roughly Sonia's age. He presents himself as an outcast due to family betrayals, but his interactions take a highly threatening and predatory turn during a work assignment with Sonia.

Bob is an American expatriate who owns Palapa Bob's, a seaside bar in Mexico. He caters to a community of foreigners taking advantage of the local economy and exhibits a combative, defensive form of patriotism.

Ilan's wife is a woman who maintains an unconventional understanding with her husband. She tolerates his infidelities, believing them necessary to fuel his artistic confidence and success.

The Ghost Hound is a spectral, menacing white dog that harasses Sonia. It serves as a surreal manifestation of her lingering trauma and the psychological hold her past continues to exert over her attempts to move forward.

Badal Baba, the "Hermit of the Clouds," is a faceless demon deity depicted on an amulet crafted by Siegfried Barbier. Initially believed to be a protective talisman, it serves as a powerful symbol of family legacy, artistic inspiration, and the shifting nature of luck.