Jacob is a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from an affluent family in Gulu. He lives a sheltered, comfortable life in a walled compound, leaving him naive about the immediate threat of the Lord's Resistance Army. His natural inclination to care for others emerges as he takes responsibility for younger, more vulnerable captives in the rebel camp.

Oteka is a poor local boy from Gulu who lives on the streets and in camps. Having lost his parents and siblings to disease, he relies on his elderly caretaker Adaa. He is intensely desperate to find direction in his life, leading him to seek guidance from a local medicine man. His difficult upbringing gives him a practical understanding of survival.

Tony is Jacob's best friend, attending the George Jones Seminary for Boys on a scholarship. He comes from a poverty-stricken family in the slums of Gulu. When the boys are abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, the harsh environment severely tests his mental state and his friendship with Jacob.

Hannah is a captive girl originally from a town near the city of Kitgum. She works preparing food for the commanders in the rebel encampment. Having suffered brutal physical punishment from the soldiers, she initially stays quiet and compliant to survive. She observes the soldiers' routines and uses her position to gather food and information.

Lizard is a young soldier in the Lord's Resistance Army who takes an immediate and intense dislike to Jacob. He uses his position of power to torment the newly abducted boys, threatening them with violence and attempting to force them into impossible choices.

Commander Opiro is a leader within the Lord's Resistance Army who directly oversees the abduction of the students from the George Jones Seminary. He uses a twisted mixture of religious rhetoric, physical violence, and strict rules to frighten and control the captive children.

Joseph Kony is the infamous warlord and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army. He claims to receive prophecies from spirits and fights to establish a theocratic regime in Uganda, employing brutal tactics like mass abduction and child enslavement to build his forces.

Norman is a ten-year-old student who initially claims to be twelve. He attends the seminary on a mathematics scholarship and can multiply large numbers in his head. Physically frail and easily frightened, he relies on the older boys for safety after their abduction.

Paul is an affluent, well-connected student at the seminary who speaks multiple languages, including English, French, Acholi, and Langi. He is the largest and most outspoken of the friend group, often entertaining his peers with stories about airplanes and the United States.

Musa Henry Torac is a wealthy friend of Jacob's father. He carries deep personal grief because his grandson was recently abducted by Joseph Kony's rebel forces, bringing the reality of the war closer to Jacob's family circle.

Jacob's father is a wealthy patriarch in Gulu who provides his son with a sheltered, privileged life. He plans to travel to London while Jacob attends his semester at school, believing the seminary's extra guards will keep the boys safe from rebel attacks.

Ethel is Jacob's cousin and the housekeeper for his family's compound. She is a practicing Catholic who also maintains traditional beliefs in witchcraft to appease small gods, representing the blending of belief systems in the region.

Adaa is a seventy-year-old woman who serves as Oteka's sole caretaker after his entire family dies of disease. She provides Oteka with his only remaining sense of home and stability in the poverty-stricken camp.

Adam is a classmate of Jacob and Tony who is abducted alongside them from the George Jones Seminary for Boys. He struggles to keep up during the grueling march under the Lord's Resistance Army's control.