Jack is a 12-year-old boy who recently moved to New Hampshire from California to hide from his father's former business partner. For years, he has experienced visions he calls Daydreams, which he eventually discovers are glimpses into an alternate dimension known as the Territories. Faced with his mother's unexplained illness, he begins a massive cross-country journey to locate a magical object capable of saving her life.

Lily is a former B-movie actress whose career peaked years ago with a single Oscar nomination. She is suffering from an unnamed, severe illness that threatens her life, prompting her to flee to a quiet resort town to evade her late husband's aggressive business partner. In the alternate dimension of the Territories, her exact counterpart is Queen Laura, a beloved ruler suffering from an identical sickness.

Morgan is the former business partner of Jack's late father. He is a greedy, wildly ambitious man who seeks complete control over the company he co-owns with Lily. His exact double in the Territories, Morgan of Orris, is a cruel despot determined to conquer the alternate dimension by introducing modern technology and weapons.

Richard is Jack's best friend and the son of Morgan Sloat. He is fiercely dedicated to science, order, and logic, actively rejecting anything magical or unexplainable. This rigid skepticism serves as a psychological defense mechanism against the frightening realities of his father's true nature and the supernatural events he vaguely recalls from childhood.

Speedy is an elderly African American handyman and former musician who works near the Alhambra Inn. He acts as a mentor to Jack, teaching the boy about the dual realities of their world and the Territories. In the alternate dimension, his counterpart is Parkus, an authoritative enforcer of justice operating under Queen Laura's banner.

Sunlight Gardener runs a heavily fortified, abusive Christian rehabilitation center for wayward boys in Indiana, using religion as a thin veil for his cruelty. His double in the Territories, Osmond, is a terrifying, unstable enforcer who shares his counterpart's twisted delight in hurting children and serving Morgan Sloat.

Wolf is a massive, sixteen-year-old werewolf native to the Territories. Unlike typical predators, he acts as a gentle shepherd devoted to protecting his herd based on the rules of a farming text. When forced to cross into Jack's modern world, he struggles intensely with the sensory overload, loud noises, and foul smells of twentieth-century America.

Jack's deceased father and Lily's late husband. Phil was a highly successful talent agent who co-founded a lucrative firm with Morgan Sloat. He discovered the Territories but treated the dimension with caution and respect, correctly theorizing that actions taken in one world could have devastating, unintended consequences in the other.

A scarred, stern military officer loyal to Queen Laura in the Territories. He recognizes the token Jack carries and helps the boy evade immediate detection by cruel local forces, providing him with vital information, a disguise, and money for the journey ahead.

The cruel and exploitative owner of a grim tavern in Oatley, New York. When Jack stops looking for temporary work, Smokey effectively takes the boy prisoner, forcing him into heavy physical labor and threatening to turn him over to a predatory local police officer if he attempts to escape.

A waitress working at the deeply unpleasant Oatley Tap. She is romantically involved with the bar's owner and acts as a reluctant supervisor to Jack during his forced employment. She occasionally shows flashes of sympathy for the boy but remains entirely complicit in his captivity.

A sinister patron of the Oatley Tap who initially appears as a man resembling the actor Randolph Scott. He is actually a dangerous creature from the Territories who tracks Jack to New York, posing a constant, terrifying threat during the boy's captivity at the tavern.

A boy placed in the Sunlight Home by his parents to correct his behavior. He attempts to mail a letter exposing the horrific abuse occurring at the facility, but when the administrators intercept his efforts and cover up the evidence, Ferd is subjected to extreme punishment.

A massive, physically imposing boy at the Sunlight Home who functions as an eager enforcer for Sunlight Gardener. He participates enthusiastically in the physical and psychological abuse of the other boys to earn the administrator's favor and protect his own status.

A malicious boy at the Sunlight Home who serves as another of Sunlight Gardener's favored deputies. He aggressively enforces the home's oppressive rules and takes genuine pleasure in stripping new arrivals of their dignity and possessions.

Sunlight Gardener's son and a student at the Thayer School. He shares his father's cruel disposition and serves as a local point of extreme tension for Richard even before the supernatural elements of the Territories begin to invade the campus.

An old man operating a train depot near the edge of the Blasted Lands in the Territories. He transports supplies for Morgan's dark forces out of fear, but his attitude shifts dramatically when he realizes Jack's true identity, viewing the boy with intense reverence.