Merit is an 18-year-old high school senior living with her unconventional family in a repurposed church called Dollar Voss. Feeling alienated from her family and peers, she experiences symptoms of depression, such as skipping school, isolating herself, and struggling to sleep. She buys a second-hand trophy whenever she has a bad experience, using the collection to memorialize negative events and cope with her emotional distress.

Sagan is a 19-year-old college student apprenticing as a tattoo artist. He is a friend of Honor's who spends significant time at Dollar Voss, eventually moving in after his grandmother's passing. Separated from his family in Syria for seven years, he possesses a different baseline for stress and frequently encourages Merit to view her family with more empathy and forgiveness.

Utah is Merit and Honor's older brother, a high school senior due to the very small age gap between the siblings. He thrives academically and maintains a strict diet and exercise regimen to control his daily life. Utah desires normalcy, keeping a rigid schedule and remaining highly secretive about his personal life and past actions.

Honor is Merit's identical twin sister, characterized by her outgoing nature and academic success. Since the tragic death of her first boyfriend two years prior, she frequently dates young men experiencing critical illnesses. She thrives in the structured environment of school and shares a much closer bond with her brother Utah than with Merit.

Barnaby is the father of Merit, Honor, Utah, and Moby. He purchased a former church to spite the local pastor and moved his ex-wife, current wife, and children into the building. He strongly prefers to avoid emotional conversations, believing that withholding difficult truths from his children protects them, though this avoidance creates significant familial frustration.

Victoria is Barnaby's second wife and the mother of four-year-old Moby. She manages the cooking and daily routines at Dollar Voss while dealing with the open hostility of her teenage stepchildren. Like her husband, she prefers to invent bizarre answers to difficult questions rather than tell the truth, especially to her young son.

Vicky is Barnaby's first wife and the mother of Merit, Honor, and Utah. Following a car accident years prior, she developed agoraphobia and other health challenges, causing her to live exclusively in the basement of Dollar Voss. She maintains an unconventional living arrangement and intimate relationship with her ex-husband while struggling to act as a present mother to her children.

Luck is Victoria's 20-year-old estranged brother who arrives at Dollar Voss seeking shelter. He previously worked on a cruise ship and holds a highly relaxed view of societal norms, sex, and family structures. He wears kilts, speaks with a shifting accent, and uses his own past experiences to help Merit recognize her emotional struggles.

Moby is the four-year-old son of Barnaby and Victoria. He is highly curious and frequently asks difficult questions about life, death, and vocabulary words. Protected by his mother's strict rules and shielded from the family's deep dysfunction, he represents the only source of uncomplicated affection for his older siblings.

Wolfgang is the dog previously owned by Pastor Brian, the original owner of the church that became Dollar Voss. Barnaby claims the dog is aggressive, but Wolfgang proves to be calm and affectionate. The dog frequently returns to its old doghouse in the backyard, seeking a safe shelter.