Gaston is a 34-year-old French Algerian naval officer stationed in Greece at the onset of World War II. He identifies deeply with his French values and his colonial roots in Algiers. He is devoted to his family, prioritizing their well-being and safety as global conflict forces them apart. He serves as the patriarch of the Cassar family, establishing a legacy of cultural pride and familial loyalty.

Lucienne is the matriarch of the Cassar family and a devout Catholic from the French Algerian community. She takes her traditional roles as wife and mother seriously, managing the household and raising her children during periods of wartime displacement. She frequently suffers from debilitating migraines but pushes through physical discomfort to provide stability for her family.

François is a nine-year-old French Algerian boy who spends much of his youth abroad in Lebanon and Greece before relocating to Algiers. As he grows up, he struggles with his mixed cultural identity, feeling fully accepted neither by the French nor by Americans. He possesses a scholarly mind but feels pressured to pursue a practical career path in business to support his future family.

Denise is François's younger sister, a young woman who deeply internalizes her French Algerian identity. She remains in Algeria to study law while her brother moves abroad, feeling an intense connection to her colonial roots. She is prone to childhood illnesses and struggles to find her social footing in a rapidly changing political environment.

Barbara is a white Canadian woman who meets and marries François. Coming from a conventional North American background, she finds François culturally exotic and struggles to understand his complicated heritage. She is intellectually curious and drawn to modern social movements, feeling stifled by traditional expectations of marriage and motherhood.

Chloe is the younger daughter of François and Barbara, raised across various countries due to her family's nomadic lifestyle. She shares her father's intellectual disposition and her mother's interest in literature, developing ambitions to become a writer. She serves as a bridge between her parents' modern sensibilities and her grandparents' traditional past.

Loulou is the older daughter of François and Barbara. She adapts to a transient childhood filled with international relocations alongside her younger sister. She is academically driven and follows in her mother's footsteps by eventually studying law.

Tata Baudry is an 85-year-old relative living in Algiers. Her home is uncomfortable and dirty compared to the Cassar family's previous residences in Greece and Lebanon. She represents the less glamorous reality of the family's sudden return to North Africa.

Tata Jeanne is a relative of the Cassar family who resides with them in Algiers during the post-war years. She is chronically ill and spends significant time resting in bed. Despite her physical limitations, she provides a kind and supportive presence in the household.

Hernandez is Gaston's landlord in Salonica, Greece, and a member of a wealthy Jewish family with long-standing roots in the city. He feels a sense of displacement parallel to Gaston's, maintaining Persian citizenship as a backup plan while attempting to remain optimistic about the war in Europe.

Broussard is a French student attending university in the United States with François. He is friendly and companionable, organizing a road trip to Florida and Cuba. He provides a social outlet for François, though he does not fully grasp the complexities of his friend's dual identity.

Mouret is another French student studying in Massachusetts. He participates in a holiday road trip to Miami with François and Broussard. He helps form a supportive circle for international students far from home.

Barbara's father is a Canadian man dealing with scleroderma, a difficult autoimmune disease. He initially opposes his daughter's marriage to François due to cultural prejudices. He eventually shows more respect for his son-in-law than his wife does, bonding quietly over family matters.

Barbara's mother is a Canadian woman who holds strong reservations about her daughter's marriage to a foreign Catholic. She is highly critical of François's background. She eventually forms a functional relationship with him to support Barbara through child-rearing and law school.

Larry Riley is an American student who crosses paths with François during their business program in Switzerland. He quickly establishes an easy camaraderie with François. He serves as his closest and most enduring confidant outside the immediate family circle.

Zohra is a Berber girl and law school classmate of Denise in Algiers. She becomes involved in the burgeoning Algerian nationalist movement. She participates in acts of political violence against the French colonial presence, directly impacting her former classmates.

Estelle is a French friend Denise makes while living in the expatriate community of Buenos Aires. She provides Denise with social connection in a new country. She inadvertently shares family news that deeply affects Denise's emotional state.

Fraulein Lili is an older expatriate bookstore owner in Argentina who bonds with Denise over a shared passion for literature. Their relationship sours when Lili makes an assumption about Denise's personal life. This misunderstanding causes Denise to abruptly resign from her job.

Jacques is Estelle's brother and the object of Denise's lifelong, unrequited affection. He is a married man with four daughters and maintains a complicated personal life. He remains entirely oblivious to Denise's quiet devotion throughout their adult years.

Oliver is Chloe's partner, accompanying her on family visits to France. He offers an outsider's perspective on the Cassars' intense familial dynamics. He is supportive of Chloe's literary ambitions and respects her deep connection to her aging relatives.

Magi is a Moroccan cleaner working in Toulon who strikes up an unlikely camaraderie with Denise. Sharing North African roots, they understand the feeling of being outsiders in France. They form a genuine bond despite the judgmental attitudes of their local neighbors.