Rachel is a determined young woman growing up in the early 1800s on the island of St. Thomas. Raised in a traditional Jewish merchant family, she resents the island's oppressive heat and strict social codes, dreaming instead of moving to France. She frequently feels restricted by the expectations placed upon women but refuses to surrender her independence. She observes the world keenly and records local stories, using her active imagination to cope with her isolation.

Frédéric is a young, responsible man from France who travels to the Caribbean to handle his family's legal and business affairs. He possesses a logical mind and a talent for mathematics, typically suppressing his own desires in favor of duty and religious honor. Upon arriving on the tropical island, he experiences a profound shift in his rigid worldview, opening himself to passions he previously ignored.

Jacobo is a highly observant and creative young man who struggles to accept the bourgeois expectations of his merchant family. Educated at the Moravian school alongside children of various backgrounds, he feels like an outsider among the island's elite. He prefers sketching the natural environment over learning his father's business, holding firm anarchist beliefs regarding wealth and class.

Jestine is the daughter of the Pomié family's cook and serves as Rachel's closest childhood companion. She is a highly skilled seamstress who creates beautiful dresses for the island's wealthy women. Growing up, she shares Rachel's active imagination and dreams of a larger life, though her mixed-race heritage places sharp boundaries on her social mobility in St. Thomas.

Madame Halevy is a prominent, influential member of the island's Jewish congregation and a close friend of Rachel's mother. She holds strong convictions about social propriety, religious duty, and community survival. She regularly intervenes in the lives of others when she feels the community's delicate reputation is at risk.

Rachel's mother is a traditional woman who adheres strictly to the island's social codes and religious expectations. She frequently clashes with her daughter over Rachel's refusal to perform domestic tasks. She harbors deep internal bitterness regarding her marriage and explicitly favors her adopted son Aaron over her own biological child.

Monsieur Pomié is a merchant who moved his family to St. Thomas to secure religious freedom under Danish law. He maintains a vast library filled with books that become a refuge for his daughter. As a practical businessman, he arranges a marriage for Rachel to secure the family's financial future when his shipping interests begin to struggle.

Aaron is Rachel's cousin who is adopted and raised by her parents from infancy. He feels immense pressure to please his adoptive family but fears he will never be viewed as a true son or inherit a share of their business. He lacks the social power to make independent choices regarding his future, often yielding to the demands of his wealthier relatives.

Adelle works as the cook for the Pomié household and actively practices the island's local spiritual traditions. She acts as a surrogate mother figure to Rachel, offering the advice, warmth, and physical affection that Rachel does not receive from her biological mother. She possesses a deep understanding of human nature and herbal remedies.

Isaac is an older, successful businessman who agrees to merge his trade with the Pomié family through an arranged marriage to Rachel. He remains deeply devoted to the memory of his deceased first wife, Madame Esther Petit. Despite the business nature of their union, he treats his new young wife with remarkable gentleness and respect.

Rosalie is a servant in Isaac Petit's household who forms a surprisingly close bond with Rachel. She carries the silent trauma of losing an infant son and worries about the intensity of a mother's love, believing it can draw bad luck. Her legal status as property becomes a point of concern after Isaac's death.

Enrique is a formerly enslaved man who works loyally for Rachel's father. He manages the day-to-day operations of the family business and thoroughly understands the harsh, hypocritical racial realities of St. Thomas. He serves as an essential guide to newcomers regarding the island's unspoken rules.

Elise is Aaron's beautiful and wealthy wife from France. She is accustomed to a life of immense privilege and uses her social standing to get exactly what she wants. Unable to have children of her own, she sets her sights on acquiring a child who shares her physical coloring.

Lydia is Jestine's daughter who inherits her mother's striking features alongside her father's European coloring. She spends her early life caught in the middle of a painful dispute between adults, eventually growing up in Paris disconnected from her island roots. She builds a stable life with her husband but questions gaps in her family history.

Marianna is a classmate of Jacobo at the Moravian school. She shares his status as a social outsider due to her family's background and their quiet practice of an African religion. She recognizes the hypocrisy of the island's class structures early in life.

Fritz is an experienced painter from Copenhagen who visits St. Thomas. He quickly recognizes Jacobo's raw artistic talent and encourages him to dedicate his life to painting rather than commerce. He represents the free, bohemian lifestyle that Jacobo desperately craves.

Julie is a young servant girl from a country farm working in Paris. She catches Jacobo's eye, drawing intense disapproval from his family due to her lack of wealth and different religious background. She is practical and hardworking, contrasting with the bourgeois circles Jacobo attempts to escape.

Henri is Lydia's husband in Paris. He comes from a prosperous family but risks his inheritance and social standing to fully support his wife when her family background comes under scrutiny.

Helena, often called Mrs. James, is Madame Halevy's fiercely loyal maid. She keeps careful watch over her employer's deepest secrets and receives her employer's belongings as a reward for her long service. She is unafraid to stand up to those who try to claim what is rightfully hers.

Roland is Helena James's grandson. He befriends Jacobo and encourages him to leave St. Thomas to pursue his artistic dreams rather than staying trapped in family obligations.

Rebecca is Madame Halevy's estranged daughter. She returns to St. Thomas solely in an attempt to claim her late mother's possessions, despite having ignored her mother's funeral and harboring deeply hidden past actions.

Hannah is Isaac Petit's daughter from his first marriage. She develops a very close relationship with her young stepmother Rachel, providing Rachel with her first genuine experience of maternal love.