Ira is a 91-year-old Jewish former haberdashery owner facing a grim lung cancer prognosis. Trapped and bleeding in his wrecked vehicle, he stays conscious by speaking with a hallucination of his late wife, Ruth. He is a man rooted in old-school values and deep devotion, using his memories of their decades-long romance and mutual art collection to stave off the freezing cold.

Luke is a 21-year-old champion bull rider who works tirelessly to save his late father's 800-acre ranch. He projects a quiet, rugged stoicism but actively hides a massive secret: a previous bull riding accident left him with a cracked vertebra and a titanium plate in his skull. He continues to ride for prize money despite knowing another fall could be instantly fatal.

Sophia is a senior art history major at Wake Forest University, originally from a blue-collar family in Trenton, New Jersey. Reeling from the betrayals of her ex-boyfriend, she feels out of place among the business majors in her sorority. She is cultured, curious, and fascinated by the unfamiliar world of ranching after a chance encounter with a cowboy.

Ruth is Ira's deceased wife, an Austrian Jewish immigrant whose family fled Nazi persecution for North Carolina. She was a dedicated third-grade teacher with a profound, academic appreciation for modern art. Unable to have biological children due to Ira's war-related illness, she pours her maternal energy into her students and her vast art collection.

Linda is Luke's widowed mother, burdened by heavy medical debt and the immense physical labor required to run an 800-acre ranch. She is terrified by her son's refusal to quit bull riding after his traumatic head injury. She serves as a grounding, maternal presence who is unafraid to speak blunt truths about the dangers Luke faces.

Daniel is a young student from a highly dysfunctional background, raised by a violent stepbrother. He finds a safe haven with Ruth, who tutors him after school and occasionally brings him home. He becomes an outlet for Ruth's unfulfilled maternal instincts and creates amateur art that holds deep emotional significance for his teachers.

Brian is a college lacrosse player and Sophia's recent ex-boyfriend. He is a serial cheater who responds to rejection with entitlement and physical intimidation. His drunken belligerence inadvertently causes Sophia and Luke to meet.

Marcia is Sophia's college roommate and sorority sister. She is highly integrated into campus social life and serves as a skeptical voice regarding Sophia's rapid attachment to a rural cowboy. Her pragmatic advice is undermined by her own questionable social choices.

Big Ugly Critter is a notoriously wild and dangerous rodeo bull with a decidedly crooked horn. He is the massive animal responsible for Luke's shattered vertebrae and ongoing medical crisis. He functions as a physical manifestation of the lethal risks Luke takes to save his family's farm.