Elliot is a twenty-four-year-old Puerto Rican veteran of the Iraq War who walks with a slight limp. He currently works at a Subway sandwich shop and occasionally picks up modeling or acting jobs. Haunted by an Arabic phrase from his time overseas, he struggles with post-traumatic stress and the lingering pain of childhood neglect.

Yazmin is a twenty-nine-year-old Puerto Rican adjunct music instructor handling the end of her marriage. She teaches her students about John Coltrane's jazz and the concept of musical dissonance, a philosophy she applies to her fragmented personal identity. Having attended a white prep school instead of the local public school, she feels somewhat disconnected from her family's neighborhood roots.

Odessa is a thirty-nine-year-old Puerto Rican woman who works odd janitorial jobs and founded the website recovertogether.com. Under her online alias, she maintains a calm, nurturing presence, often composing haikus for members recovering from crack cocaine addiction. In real life, she carries immense guilt over her past parental failures and struggles to mend ties with her biological son.

John is a forty-one-year-old white computer programmer who joins the online recovery community while attempting to quit crack cocaine. Married with children, he initially refuses to acknowledge the severity of his addiction, believing he can beat it through sheer willpower and expert advice. His arrogant entry into the chat room creates immediate friction with the established users.

Buddy is a fifty-six-year-old Black man who lives in San Diego and holds a low-level position at the IRS. As a longtime member of the recovery chat room, he adheres strictly to a safe, uneventful routine to maintain his sobriety. He fears taking risks in the real world, heavily relying on the digital bonds he has formed to stay grounded.

Madeleine is a thirty-one-year-old recent community college graduate who is newer to the sobriety process. Born in Japan as Yoshiko Sakai but adopted by an American family as an infant, she travels to Sapporo in search of her birth family. She yearns for genuine, real-world connections beyond the digital screen and pushes her online friends to take emotional risks.

The Ghost is an apparition tied to Elliot's military service in Iraq. He follows Elliot relentlessly, continuously asking the same question about his passport in Arabic. He acts as a physical manifestation of unresolved trauma, sporadically intervening in Elliot's daily life and increasing his psychological burden.

Mami Ginny is the beloved aunt of Elliot and Yazmin. After her sister Odessa proved unable to raise her children, Ginny stepped in as a surrogate mother for Elliot. She serves as the emotional anchor for the Ortiz family, and her declining health forces the family members to confront their futures without her.

Professor Aman is a colleague of Yazmin's at the college. He assists Elliot by translating the Arabic phrase that has been haunting him since his time in the military. He also connects Elliot with a documentary filmmaker seeking a consultant on Marine experiences in Iraq.

Mary Lou is Elliot's deceased younger sister who died in early childhood. Her tragic passing from dehydration fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Ortiz family, leading to Elliot being raised by his aunt and cementing Odessa's deep feelings of guilt.