Tiffany is a 16-year-old Anishinaabe girl living on the Otter Lake First Nations reserve. Following her mother's sudden departure over a year ago, she struggles with failing grades, a broken family dynamic, and the everyday difficulties of being an Indigenous teenager in a predominantly white educational system. She actively seeks acceptance and identity, often projecting these desires onto her new relationship with a classmate.

Pierre is an Anishinaabe vampire who has lived in Europe for centuries since being taken from his homeland as a boy named Owl. Weary and starving from his refusal to feed, he returns to the Otter Lake reserve seeking a final resting place. He rents the Hunter family's basement to avoid sunlight while quietly exploring the modern iteration of the land he once knew.

Granny Ruth is Tiffany's traditional Anishinaabe grandmother and the matriarch of the Hunter household. Since the death of her husband, she misses speaking the Anishinaabe language and attempts to maintain cultural traditions in a rapidly modernizing world. She serves as a stable, protective force for her family, even when they do not fully appreciate her efforts.

Keith is Tiffany's father, an Anishinaabe man bearing the heavy burden of supporting his family after his wife's departure. Refusing to acknowledge his own contribution to his fractured marriage, he frequently channels his repressed grief into anger toward his daughter. He views his strictness as a necessity for his family's survival but struggles to communicate his underlying love.

Tony is a white teenager from Tiffany's school who recently started dating her after she cured his chronic cough with traditional weekah root. Practical but cowardly, he frequently uses Tiffany to access tax exemptions via her Indigenous status card. He dislikes conflict and prioritizes his social reputation over defending his relationship against his friends' prejudices.

Claudia is Tiffany's absent mother, who abandoned her husband and daughter to move to Edmonton with a white man. While she desires more from her life than the reserve could offer, her exit was careless and deeply damaging to those she left behind. Her actions serve as the catalyst for the Hunter family's current misery.

Darla is a tough Anishinaabe teenager and one of Tiffany's closest friends on the Otter Lake reserve. She harbors dreams of hitchhiking to Vancouver to build a new life. Blunt and perceptive, she immediately sees through Tony's exploitative behavior and openly criticizes Tiffany's relationship choices.

Kim is an Anishinaabe teenager from the Otter Lake reserve and part of Tiffany's social circle. Unlike many of her peers, she holds ambitious plans to become a lawyer. She feels increasingly neglected by Tiffany, causing a restless rift in their friendship.

Julie is a white teenage girl who previously dated Tony until their parents forced a breakup. She remains a prominent figure in his social circle, wearing a gold bracelet that matches one Tony bought for Tiffany. Her presence consistently highlights Tiffany's status as an outsider.

Dale is a local miscreant on the Otter Lake reserve who grows marijuana in the woods and regularly bullies others for fun. He thrives on conflict and intimidation but severely underestimates the danger he faces when he decides to target the strange new visitor in town.

Chucky is a petty criminal and bully living on the reserve. Though he participates in Dale's malicious schemes, he proves slightly more observant than his friend, quickly realizing that their chosen target possesses unnatural and terrifying qualities.

Trish is Tiffany's cousin, a troubled youth living on the reserve who feels completely disconnected from human relationships. Ignored by her parents, she copes with the stress of her environment by isolating herself, making her vulnerable to a strange encounter on the road.

Anne was a kind French servant girl who lived centuries ago during Pierre's youth. When he was a displaced Anishinaabe boy suffering from loneliness and a fatal illness in a foreign land, she provided him with his only source of comfort and human connection.

Irene is an Irish Catholic woman traveling on the same flight as Pierre. Initially intending to relax and watch a movie, she is quickly overwhelmed by Pierre's dark aura and contagious sense of loneliness, prompting her to change seats.