| Fareed | Agha | Boba's friend. One of the new leaders. |
| Horace | Bullard | The man who started the Kansas Fried Chicken. |
| George | Bush | The current U.S. President. |
| Ali | Hakim | A Persian peddler. |
| Leo | Harris | The CIA agent. The man who helped Tilly. |
| Daoud | Khan | Neeab's grandfather. President of Afghanistan. |
| Mirwais | Khan | Boba's friend. One of the new leaders. |
| Neelab | Khan | Sitara's best friend. |
| Rostam | Khan | Neelab's brother. |
| Rudyars | Kipling | A British poet. |
| Abdul Shair | Nabi | The silent soldier. Aka: Sham. |
| Kareem | Nabi | Shair's son. |
| Dr. | Nazari | The doctor at OMAR. |
| Clay | Porter | A war journalist. |
| Abdullah | Raheem | Boba's friend. One of the new leaders. |
| Zahir | Shah | Daoud's predecessor. |
| Antonia | Shephard | The American woman who gave shelter to Sitara. Aka: Nia. |
| Tilly | Shephard | Nia's mother. |
| Katie | Shipman | Sitara's former classmate. |
| Mr. | Shipman | Katie's father. A businessman. |
| Ibn | Sina | The astronomer. |
| Dr. | Sinks | Sitara's anatomy instructor. |
| Carla | Stevens | A political officer in the embassy. |
| Aryana | Zamani | Sitara's sister. |
| Faheem | Zamani | Sitara's brother. |
| Sitara | Zamani | Protagonist and narrator. Aka: Star, Anna, Aryana Shephard. |
| Sulaiman | Zamani | Sitara's father. Daoud's adviser. Aka: Boba. |
| Adam | | Sitara's boyfriend. |
| Al-Sufi | | An astronomer and author. |
| Ann | | The child protection services agent. |
| Ashraf | | Sitara's neighbor. |
| Danny | | Sitara's fellow resident doctor. |
| Darya | | The soldier who sniffled with allergies. |
| Dayo | | Sitara's best friend. |
| Elias | | Shair's grandson. |
| Everett | | Janet's husband. |
| Everly | | Dayo's acquaintance. |
| Gabriel | | One of Janet's foster children. |
| Gavin | | Clay's colleague. |
| George | | Nia's workmate. |
| Hakim | | Nia's driver. |
| Indigo | | The hippie that Tilly met. |
| Inez | | The nurse-in-charge in Sitara's hospital. |
| Jamshid | | The general. |
| Janet | | The owner of the foster home. |
| Kishmish | | The guard. |
| Lacey | | Sitara's assistant. |
| Madar | | Sitara's mother. |
| Marilyn | | One of Sitara's patients. |
| Martine | | Sitara's friend. |
| Nasrat | | The museum head. |
| Patricia | | Indigo's wife. |
| Sabzi | | The soldier with green eyes. |
| Selena | | Clay's lover. |
| Serj | | Sitara's fellow resident doctor. |
| Shawna | | One of Janet's foster children. |
| Tahera | | Shair's wife. |
| Waleed | | A linguist who drives Sitara to Kabul. |
