Jane Forrester
Jane is one of the narrators and the primary protagonist. She's an outsider in all ways possible in Raleigh. As a college graduate, she possesses resources and education unimaginable to the locals. Add to this a position which gives her authority over people's autonomy, finances, and healthcare decisions, and Jane is a genuine threat to the community. She cares about these people, however, and does her best to know them and to meet their individual needs. She is not interested in eliminating any hypothetical problems by forcing them to rearrange their lives or compromise their long-held values. It's a difficult line to tread when Jane considers how pivotal her job performance may be in this position in relation to her overall career plans. She must weigh her vocational ambitions with her desire to help the locals.
Ivy Hart
Ivy is the other narrator. At fifteen-years-old she's already gained more life experience than Jane can imagine. She's a highly responsible and terribly troubled girl. When she finally reveals that she's been pregnant while caring for her sister, diabetic grandmother, and her little nephew, she astonishes everyone. They interpret her pregnancy as a sign that she's impulsive and untrustworthy, but Ivy wants this baby. Although her situation may look dire, she possesses a confession of hope. She just wants to look after her family and appeals to Jane to protect her from the greedy and sometimes oppressive state regulations.
Davison Gardiner
Gardiner owns the land which Ivy and her family live on. After Percy Hart died in an accident during his employment for Gardiner, the boss allows Ivy's family to remain in their cabin rent free. He is not eager to attract the attention of the authorities because perhaps Percy's death could have been prevented by better safety regulations.
Mary Ella
She is Ivy's older sister. Mary Ella has some mental impairments which prevent her from living on her own. Along with her two-year-old son, William, she keeps watch over her grandmother. They're a quiet household, but they struggle to make ends meet and to stay out of trouble with the law. When Mary Ella delivered William, she was involuntarily sterilized by the hospital staff according to state regulation. She has never recovered from the trauma of that incident. They violated her on a level so intimate that she won't speak about it.
Henry Allen
He is Gardiner's teenage son. He and Ivy have a romantic relationship, so it is suspected he is the father of her child. Because of the unspoken social code and his own father's strict concerns, he keeps their romance a secret as best as possible.
