Lea is a quiet, observant 12-year-old Jewish girl from Berlin whose world shatters as the oppressive regime tightens its grip. Raised on her grandmother's stories of wolves surviving the winter, she learns to embody that same resilient spirit. When her mother arranges her escape to Paris, Lea must travel with a strange new companion, relying on her open heart to endure the spreading darkness.

Ettie is the 17-year-old daughter of a renowned Berlin rabbi. Brilliant and frustrated by the gender restrictions preventing her from studying to be a cleric, she secretly masters ancient mystical texts. When tragedy strikes her family, she channels her grief into action, determined to fight the oppressive forces overtaking Europe.

Ava is a golem conjured from river mud to serve a singular purpose. Created through ancient Jewish mysticism, she exists solely to protect Lea on her journey out of Berlin. Initially lacking a soul or emotions, she slowly awakens to the world around her, fascinated by the morning sun and the unfamiliar concept of human connection.

Julien is a 14-year-old aspiring artist living a privileged life in Paris. Reared by an intellectual mathematician father and an anxious mother, he views the war with detached boredom. His perspective shifts abruptly when a refugee from Berlin arrives at his door, drawing him out of his self-absorption.

Victor is Julien's 17-year-old older brother. An idealistic and reckless young man who rejects his parents' attempts to quietly endure the occupation, he actively seeks out the underground French Resistance. He quickly earns a reputation as a daring operative and an explosives expert.

Hanni is Lea's devoted mother, recently widowed by street violence in Berlin. Driven by grief and a desperate need to protect her only child, she takes enormous risks to secure Lea's safe passage to France. She willingly engages with forbidden magic to ensure her daughter's survival.

Bobeshi is Lea's bedridden grandmother and a Russian Jewish immigrant. She fills her granddaughter's imagination with harsh but vital fables about wolves and hunters in the snowy forests, imparting an ideology of survival that shapes the young girl's worldview.

The Rabbi is a respected cleric in Berlin rumored to possess deep knowledge of Jewish mysticism. He refuses to use his abilities to conjure a golem, viewing such acts as dabbling in dangerous and untamable forces.

Marta is Ettie's older sister. She reluctantly supplies a drop of her own blood to help Ettie perform the incantation that brings the golem to life, doing so in exchange for forged travel documents to escape the city.

Andre is the patriarch of the Lévi household in Paris and a respected university mathematician. He prefers the elegant logic of numbers over the terrifying political realities closing in on his family, often ignoring the growing threats until they reach his doorstep.

Claire is Julien and Victor's mother. She is initially suspicious of taking in refugee relatives, struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy and safety as arrests increase in their city.

Marianne is the Lévi family's maid who decides to leave her position in Paris and return to her rural hometown of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Disillusioned by the cruelty she witnesses in the capital, she finds a new purpose helping those fleeing persecution.

An aging farmer living in the secluded French countryside. He welcomes his daughter back home, trying to maintain their farm as roaming soldiers increasingly threaten their quiet existence.

Dr. Girard is a compassionate, widowed doctor operating in the rural areas of France. He uses his medical expertise to treat wounded underground fighters, offering a quiet, steady presence for those taking dangerous risks.

Madeleine is the mother superior at a Catholic convent. Born to a wealthy Jewish family before taking her vows, she orchestrates a secretive network to hide refugee children and guide them toward the safety of the Swiss border.

A majestic gray heron that migrates across Europe. Capable of understanding the golem's unique language, the bird becomes a devoted companion and an essential messenger between separated friends.

The Angel of Death from Jewish folklore. A luminous figure in a black coat, he appears silently on rooftops and in forests to observe human events, representing a cosmic presence looking over the earthly suffering.