Joel is a 69-year-old retired literary agent living in rural northern California. He suffers from physical ailments and harbors a deep sense of rootlessness stemming from his upbringing and his son's passing. He spends his days sorting through his career files, struggling with feelings of passivity, and reading aloud from a journal he kept during a 1954 trip to Denmark.

Ruth is Joel's patient and tender wife, serving as the bedrock of his emotional stability. She acts as an eager homemaker and volunteers at a local care facility, maintaining the social ties her husband often avoids. She encourages Joel to read his old journal aloud, hoping the process will heal his lingering depression.

Astrid is a Danish countess who rents rooms to Joel and Ruth during their 1954 vacation in Copenhagen. Once a wealthy aristocrat raised in a castle, she has suffered a drastic reduction in her circumstances due to the actions of her estranged family. She sells artwork and wallpaper designs to survive, maintaining a stoic resilience despite her social isolation.

Eigil is Astrid's estranged brother and the current lord of the massive Ørebyslot castle on the island of Lolland. A highly competitive and imposing man, he runs his ancestral lands like a hyper-efficient, mechanized factory. He worships his deceased father and dedicates himself to scientific agriculture, stock breeding, and controlling his environment with an iron fist.

Césare is a famous Italian novelist who previously worked with Joel. Known for his vibrant personality and slightly salacious books, he visits the Allstons while touring California. His restless energy and thinly veiled boredom with rural retirement living cause Joel to feel intensely insecure about his own life choices.

Curtis is Joel and Ruth's only child, a bohemian surfer who drowned in his twenties. During his life, he fiercely rejected his father's conventional work ethic in favor of a drifting, hedonistic lifestyle. His memory hangs over Joel and Ruth, heavily influencing their decision to travel to Denmark in 1954.

Ben is a wealthy, retired doctor who lives near the Allstons. Despite being ten years older than Joel and having survived multiple serious health scares, he maintains a vibrant, sociable lifestyle. He frequently hosts lavish dinner parties and encourages Joel to be more active.

Tom is an internationally renowned architect and a neighbor of the Allstons. His cancer, which was in remission, has returned and become terminal, a fact that forces Joel to confront his own anxieties about aging and mortality.

Edith is the attractive, younger wife of Tom Patterson. She faces the impending loss of her husband with quiet resilience, continuing to manage their household and interact with the local community during his decline.

Known to her readers as Isak Dinesen, Karen is a famous author and a relative of Astrid. A tiny, formidable woman with an extensive knowledge of local lore, she offers sharp observations about the Rødding family. She challenges Joel's idealized view of European history by pointing out its darker elements.

Miss Weibull is a heavily pregnant woman who attends a lunch at the Rødding castle, much to Astrid's visible displeasure. She exudes a smug sense of entitlement and holds a mysterious connection to the Sverdrup family, the same family that raised Joel's orphaned mother.

Erik is Astrid's estranged husband, a handsome man bearing a surgically repaired harelip. After collaborating with the Nazis during the occupation of Denmark, he served time in prison, resulting in the loss of his family's lands. He seeks to reconcile with Astrid after previously abandoning her for another woman.

Landgreve Rødding is the deceased father of Astrid and Eigil. A renowned biologist, he expanded upon Gregor Mendel's work by perfectly hybridizing flora and fauna on his vast estate. His scientific obsessions ultimately ended in a massive public scandal and his own passing.

Manon is Eigil's wife, living in the opulent Ørebyslot castle. She acts as a polite hostess during the Allstons' visit but shares an undercurrent of nervous tension with Astrid regarding the uninvited lunch guest, Miss Weibull.

Anne is a young, attractive State Department functionary assigned to assist Césare Rulli during his tour of the United States. She accompanies him to the Allstons' home and appears captivated by his charm.

Mr. Bertelson is an elderly Swedish passenger traveling on the same cruise ship as Joel and Ruth in 1954. He and his wife are returning to his birthplace for their retirement after fifty years of labor, but he suffers a fatal heart attack during a rough storm at sea.

Mrs. Bertelson is the elderly wife of Mr. Bertelson. She loses her entire world when her husband dies abruptly during the ocean crossing, leaving her completely bereft and isolated.