Kora is a 15-year-old girl living in the impoverished Saltwater Flats during the aftermath of the devastating tiger flu pandemic. Surviving on a meager rooftop potato harvest, she is tough, practical, and fiercely loyal to her struggling family. When food shortages worsen, she is forced to join the Cordova School for Dancing Girls to learn survival and scavenging skills.

Kirilow, known as "Kiri," is a "groom" in the matriarchal Grist Village, serving as the community's resident doctor and surgeon. She is responsible for harvesting organs from regenerating women to extend the lives of the village's reproducing elders. Fastidious and deeply committed to her people, she harbors a deep mistrust of outsiders and toxic modern technologies.

Madame Dearborn is the benevolent leader and resident clinician of the Cordova School for Dancing Girls. She provides a safe haven for young orphans from the Saltwater Flats, teaching them how to survive, scavenge, and protect themselves in a hostile world. She serves as a maternal figure to her students and runs a medical clinic for their frequent foraging injuries.

Isabelle Chow is the wealthy inventor and despot CEO of HöST Light Industries. She effectively rules the Saltwater Flats through corporate dominance and military might, utilizing advanced biological weaponry like "batterkites." Her technological ambitions prioritize progress and control over human safety or environmental health.

Marcus Traskin is the corporate lord of the Pacific Pearl Parkade and commands a personal army of "tiger men." He has integrated technology directly into his body, covering himself in knowledge scales that make him a living database. He operates as a direct challenger to HöST Light Industries' monopoly in the region.

Elzbieta Kruk serves as the high priestess of the New Origins Archive, a conservatory dedicated to preserving seeds, spores, and biological cells. She operates in a powerful political position outside the immediate control of Saltwater City, controlling access across strict quarantine borders.

Charlotte is Kora's pragmatic and hardened mother. Living in the decaying Woodward Building, she bears the heavy burden of keeping her family alive during severe food shortages and ongoing flu outbreaks. She is willing to make painful, unpopular decisions to ensure her children's survival.

Uncle Wai is a primary provider for the Ko household. He meticulously cultivates a rooftop garden to feed Kora, K2, and Charlotte, though the toxic environment makes farming difficult. Suffering from the tiger flu, he urges the family to send Kora to the Cordova School so she will have a better chance at surviving the coming hardships.

K2 is Kora's brother who suffers from the debilitating lesions of the tiger flu. Disillusioned with his family's desperate poverty, he abandons the Woodward Building to join a gang of "tiger men" in the city. He views his new affiliations as a path to power and a potential cure for his illness.

Peristrophe is the Grist Village's last "starfish," a woman capable of regenerating harvested limbs and organs. She serves as the biological donor keeping the village elders alive, a duty that leaves her chronically exhausted and sickly. She relies heavily on her partner Kirilow for medical care and emotional comfort.

Auntie Radix is the eldest member of the Grist Village and the community's last "doubler," capable of spontaneous pregnancies that sustain the village population. Her advanced age requires constant organ transplants, making her demanding of her grooms and a central figure of authority.

Glorybind is Kirilow's "mother double" in the Grist Village. She provides steady, pragmatic advice to Kirilow during moments of crisis and emphasizes their solemn duty to preserve the village's traditions and safety.

Delphine is Kora's beloved pet goat. Living in the makeshift rooftop garden of the Woodward Building, she is a source of comfort to Kora and a point of bitter contention among the starving adults in the household.

Myra is an older student at the Cordova School for Dancing Girls who frequently utilizes specialized stealth garments known as "catcoats." She is hostile, territorial, and actively bullies new arrivals like Kora during dangerous scavenging runs.

Tania is a student at the Cordova School who operates closely with Myra. She possesses valuable political ties, being the niece of a military general, which affords her and her friends occasional leverage at city checkpoints.

Calyx is a Grist sister who accompanies Kirilow on her journey into Saltwater City. She struggles with the trauma of losing their home and often turns to narcotics to cope, but remains a loyal companion on the road.

Bombyx is a young groom in the Grist Village who assists with the demanding medical care of Auntie Radix. She is observant and keeps secrets from the village elders when necessary to protect her peers.