Mr. John Oakhurst is a professional gambler with a handsome face and a meticulous habit of keeping his black clothes neat. He possesses a calm, unbothered demeanor, especially when dealing with unpredictable or chaotic situations. As someone who makes his living relying on luck, he maintains an emotional restraint that sets him apart from the other exiles in his group.

The Duchess is a young woman working as a sex worker in the California mining town of Poker Flat. She is prone to emotional outbursts and relies heavily on the physical comforts of town life, making the harsh journey into the mountains especially difficult for her. Over time, she reveals a capacity to set aside her distress to look after those who are younger or more vulnerable than herself.

Mother Shipton is an older sex worker exiled from Poker Flat by the town's secret committee. She exhibits a hardened, rocky fastness and quickly unleashes streams of curses at the institution causing her predicament. Despite her rough exterior and initial lack of stereotypically maternal qualities, she acts with fierce loyalty toward the most vulnerable members of their group.

Uncle Billy is an intoxicated man banished from Poker Flat due to his reputation as a possible sluice-robber. He speaks mostly in expletives and views his fellow outcasts with suspicion and derision. He shows no remorse for his past actions and treats the group's dire circumstances as an annoyance rather than a shared hardship.

Tom Simson, known as the Innocent of Sandy Bar, is an enthusiastic and boyish young man traveling to Poker Flat to seek his fortune. He carries a deeply naive view of the world, happily assuming the best about the rough outcasts he encounters. His optimistic nature and guileless personality bring a sense of community to the otherwise fractured group of exiles.

Piney Woods is a stout, comely fifteen-year-old girl with bright blue eyes. She is eloping with Tom Simson to escape her father's objections to their marriage. Like Tom, she brings an innocent, provincial energy to the campsite, completely unaware of the darker pasts of the outcasts she has just met.