William Music
Music is a hard-worker who went west to find work with an electric company, but lost the opportunity when the Great Depression struck. Now, he's out of luck and far from home, so he travels by train, trying to get to Virginia. When he crosses through Kentucky, he stumbles onto some work at a local coal mine and accepts the job, putting himself right in the crossfires of a developing feud between the coal mine owner, Hardcastle, and the employees who are moving closer to unionizing every day.
Mrs. Ella Bone
Mrs. Ella Bone is a kind of hero for William Music, because she sees that he is a hard-working and well-meaning man fallen on hard times, and she connects him with an opportunity. She helps to bring him into the fold, offering him a place to stay and a way to earn some money. Her son is Regus, who works for Hardcastle Coal, a local mine in Switch County, Kentucky.
Regus Patoff Bone
Regus has been with the coal mine a long time, and he knows how challenging the Kentucky mines can really be. The mines employ him as a mine guard, so he reports to the owner, Hardcastle, and helps the boss to alleviate tensions among the employees. Lately, his job has been to dissuade the union-sympathizers and the Communists who are threatening to shut down the mine and strike.
Hardcastle
This coal mine owner is a rough boss, and the Great Depression hasn't helped any. Of course, the limited resources makes it harder for him to help the coal miners, but then again, his anti-union stance takes him down a self-defeating path. He is often extreme and violent, and he often belittles his employees, threatening them with violence. When he finds a union sympathizer, he goes crazy and throws them out, using the Depression as license to be a monster.
