Kazumasa is a humble Japanese immigrant who relocates to São Paulo, Brazil seeking a change of pace from his career as a railway track inspector. Accompanied by a sentient sphere, he finds himself in possession of a massive fortune after winning the lottery. He prefers a quiet life and freely distributes his wealth to friends, family, and strangers alike. He remains gentle and socially awkward, particularly regarding matters of romance.

Jonathan B. Tweep is an ambitious American businessman born with a fully functional third arm. He quickly ascends the corporate ladder at GGG by reorganizing departments with extreme efficiency. Finding genuine excitement in corporate dominance, he focuses his resources on exploiting the Matacão and its mysterious feathers as the company's next major commercial venture.

Chico Paco is a nineteen-year-old fisherman with blond hair and green eyes. Deeply compassionate, he dedicates his time to helping his disabled neighbor, Gilberto. He starts a bare-footed, thousands-of-mile journey to the Matacão to fulfill a promise to Saint George, an act of earnest devotion that attracts a massive following of religious believers.

Mané Da Costa Pena is an impoverished, barefoot Amazonian native with a profound belief in the healing properties of bird feathers. He adapts calmly to natural disasters and sudden life changes. His televised statements about feathers bring him international attention and a sudden, highly demanding corporate consulting position.

Batista is a charismatic, street-smart man living in São Paulo who battles intense jealousy regarding his wife. He finds emotional stability in adopting and training a homing pigeon. This domestic hobby escalates into a major community spectacle when the bird begins delivering prophetic messages, leading Batista to manage a full-scale pigeon courier operation.

Tania is an independent, highly capable woman who manages her husband's pigeon-training hobby. Recognizing the immense commercial potential of their messenger birds, she works tirelessly to expand the venture into a legitimate international business. She cares deeply for her husband but actively seeks relief from his constant jealousy by traveling for work.

The Ball is a sentient, hovering sphere that acts as the primary narrator of the novel. It possesses clairvoyant knowledge and telepathic senses, allowing it to recount events across the globe as a collective memory. It maintains a constant physical orbit around Kazumasa's head and senses a powerful, unexplained magnetic pull toward the Matacão region in Brazil.

Hiroshi is an enterprising Japanese expatriate living in Brazil. He uses his cousin's sudden wealth to invest in a string of successful karaoke bars. He acts as a shrewd financial manager, constantly finding ways to multiply money through clever business ventures.

Lourdes is a widowed single mother who works as a maid in São Paulo. She struggles to provide for her two children after her husband died searching for gold. She harbors quiet, unspoken romantic feelings for her gentle employer, choosing to manage his household and protect him from those who seek to exploit his wealth.

Rubens is Lourdes's young son, whose weak legs confine him to a wheelchair. He develops a fierce fascination with the neighboring pigeon trainers and adopts the hobby himself. His adventurous spirit occasionally puts him in danger due to his physical limitations.

Gislaine is Lourdes's daughter. She helps care for her brother and navigates the crowded, chaotic events of their neighborhood alongside her family. She operates as her brother's physical proxy when his wheelchair limits his access to their apartment balcony.

Tia Carolina is Lourdes's aunt. She closely follows neighborhood gossip and correctly identifies a local immigrant as the subject of a highly anticipated pigeon message, sparking a massive community frenzy around Kazumasa.

Angustia is Mané Da Costa Pena's wife. She supports her family through various environmental disasters but grows increasingly frustrated by her husband's newfound fame and busy travel schedule. She longs for the quieter days before international corporations arrived in the forest.

Dona Maria Creuza is a devout older woman living in the seaside town of Ceará. She makes a solemn vow to journey to the Matacão if her grandson regains the ability to walk, an oath that eventually sets Chico Paco's grand pilgrimage into motion.

Gilberto is Dona Maria Creuza's grandson and a childhood friend of Chico Paco. After recovering from a paralyzing disease, he develops a passionate love for high-speed thrills, extreme sports, and amusement parks to celebrate his newly regained mobility.

Dona Feliz is Chico Paco's mother. She adapts to urban life by planting a garden in the apartment bathtub and traveling long distances to stay close to her famous, deeply devout son.

Michelle Mabelle is a French bird professor with an extensive collection of exotic birds. She bonds with a corporate executive over their shared eccentricities and mutual professional drive. She later uses her public platform to advocate for the ethical treatment of birds during the feather craze.

Dona Gloria is Tania's mother. She helps manage the logistical side of the rapidly expanding pigeon enterprise, tracking local events and relaying critical neighborhood information back to her family.

Georgia Gamble is the co-founder of the monolithic corporation GGG. She builds the business from a humble office before being outmaneuvered and ousted by aggressive company stockholders.

Geoffrey Gamble is the co-founder of GGG. He accepts his removal from the company with quiet resignation, choosing to throw away a highly valuable piece of product research on his way out of the corporate headquarters.