Kit is a 16-year-old girl raised in the liberal, colorful atmosphere of Barbados. Following the death of her grandfather, she travels penniless to Connecticut to live with her only remaining family. Her impulsive nature, independent spirit, and fashionable wardrobe clash immediately with the strict Puritan society of Wethersfield. She struggles to adapt to exhausting household chores and rigid social expectations.

Nathaniel is a 19-year-old sailor and the son of the Dolphin's captain. Tall and blond, he possesses a broader worldview than the strict Puritans of Wethersfield due to his travels as a merchant seaman. He is amused and occasionally irritated by Kit's impulsiveness, but shares her love of literature and the ocean.

Hannah is an elderly Quaker widow living in a ramshackle cottage near the Great Meadow on the outskirts of Wethersfield. Driven out of Massachusetts for her religious beliefs years earlier, she lives as a shunned outcast in the Puritan community. She relies on her own inner spiritual guidance rather than strict religious doctrine.

Matthew is Kit's strict Puritan uncle. He is a hardworking farmer who strongly opposes Royalist political sympathies and demands absolute adherence to Puritan rules within his household. Though he appears cold, rigid, and deeply intolerant of frivolous behavior, he possesses a fierce instinct to protect his family and preserve his way of life in America.

Goodwife Cruff is a bad-tempered, highly superstitious Puritan housewife. She immediately marks Kit as a witch based entirely on the girl's ability to swim. Shrill and domineering, she mistreats her own daughter and aggressively looks for signs of witchcraft and sin in those around her.

Rachel is Kit's aunt and the sister of her deceased mother. Once considered a great beauty in her youth, her looks have faded from years of exhausting toil in the colonies. She is a timid woman who submissively follows her husband's strict rules, yet she maintains a kind, caring disposition and attempts to ease Kit's transition into their demanding lifestyle.

Mercy is the older daughter of Matthew and Rachel Wood. A childhood illness has left her reliant on crutches, limiting her mobility to the home. Despite her physical challenges, she serves as the peaceful center of the household, maintaining a hopeful, patient attitude and taking on the task of running the local dame school.

Judith is the younger daughter of Matthew and Rachel Wood. She is beautiful but sharp-tongued, demanding, and highly focused on social standing. Unlike her sister Mercy, Judith resents the endless chores of colonial life and constantly looks for ways to improve her material comforts and community status through marriage.

William is the son of a wealthy local landowner and Wethersfield's most eligible bachelor. Described as handsome in a bulky, steady way, he is conventional, practical, and deeply concerned with social approval. He focuses his time on constructing a grand new house and expects his future bride to behave with perfect propriety.

John is a soft-spoken divinity student studying under the local clergyman. Though initially overawed by his mentor and shocked by Kit's nonreligious reading habits, he possesses a kind nature. He struggles to assert his own convictions in the face of the older, opinionated men around him, often remaining quiet to avoid conflict.

Prudence is the pale, skinny, and timid daughter of the Cruff family. Dismissed by her own mother as too unintelligent to learn, she is forbidden from attending the local dame school. She possesses a quiet intelligence and a strong desire to read, which blossoms when she receives secret encouragement.

Goodman Cruff is Prudence's father and Goodwife Cruff's husband. He generally defers to his overbearing wife's shrill demands, acting as a henpecked spouse who fails to protect his daughter from neglect. He shows occasional flashes of independent thought only when confronted with undeniable evidence.

Captain Eaton is the commander of the merchant ship Dolphin and Nat's father. He is a practical, experienced sailor who facilitates Kit's arrival in Wethersfield, escorting her and her numerous heavy trunks through the town to her family's door when no one comes to meet her.

Reverend Bulkeley is the local Puritan clergyman and a highly influential figure in Wethersfield. He holds strong Royalist political sympathies, which frequently bring him into heated arguments with independent-minded colonists. He also serves as the community's primary medical practitioner.

Mr. Kimberley is the local schoolmaster who oversees the Wethersfield dame school. He is a strict man who values conventional, rote learning and is easily scandalized by imaginative teaching methods, such as having students act out stories from the Bible.