| | | PART I MANITOU ISLAND |
1 | Wally | Schanno | A retired sheriff of Tamarack County. |
| Arietta | | A teacher. Schanno's wife. |
| Jenny | | One of Cork's daughters. |
| Anne | | One of Cork's daughters. Aka: Annie. |
| Jo | | Cork's wife. An attorney. |
| Corcoran | O'Connor | A private investigator. Schanno's friend. Aka: Cork. |
2 | Sam Winter | Moon | Cork's father. |
| Sean | | Jenny's boyfriend. |
| Kate | Buker | One of Annie's friends. |
| Stevie | | Cork's son. |
| Clyde | | A turtle. |
| George | LeDuc | The Iron Lake Ojibwe tribal chairman. |
| Henry | Meloux | A member of the Grand Medicine Society. |
3 | Ernie | Champoux | Meloux's great-nephew. |
| Dr. | Wrigley | Meloux's doctor. |
| Maria | Lima | Meloux's acquaintance. |
| Walleye | | Meloux's dog. |
4 | Jodi | Bollendorf | One of the girls who worked at Sam's Place. |
| Dilsey | | Cork's grandmother. |
| Dumbarton | | The neighbor's dog. |
| Davy | Crockett | American soldier. |
6 | Robert | Frost | American poet. |
| Robert Penn | Warren | American poet, novelist, and literary critic. |
| Ernest | Hemingway | American journalist, novelist, and short-story writer. |
| Leonard | Wellington | Maria Lima Wellington's husband. |
| Carlos | Lima | Maria Lima Wellington's father. |
| Henry | Wellington | Maria Lima Wellington's son. |
| Howard | Hughes | American business magnate. |
8 | Rupert | Wellington | Henry Wellington's half-brother. |
| Alan | Wellington | Henry Wellington's son. |
| Maria | Wellington | Henry Wellington's daughter. |
| Heidi | | Alan Wellington's secretary. |
9 | Ms. | Helprin | Rupert Wellington's secretary. |
10 | Edward | Morrissey | Henry Wellington's personal assistant. |
11 | Henry W. | Longfellow | American poet and educator. |
12 | Trinky | Pollard | Former Royal Canadian Mounted Police. |
14 | Joe | Krick | Cork's acquaintance. |
| Melissa | | Joe Krick's wife. |
16 | Ed | Larson | The head of the major crime investigations for the sheriff's dept. |
| Marcia | Dross | The first female law enforcement officer in the sheriff's dept. |
| Leslie | Hakala | A veterinarian. Einer's daughter. |
| Einer | Hakala | A veterinarian. |
17 | Trixie | | Schanno's puppy. |
| Sally | Fellows | Schanno's acquaintance. |
| | | PART II MELOUX'S STORY |
19 | Warren G. | Harding | 29th U.S. President. |
| Calvin | Coolidge | 30th U.S. President. |
| Karl | | A farmer. |
| Emma | | Karl's wife. |
| Woodrow | Meloux | Henry Meloux's uncle. |
20 | Joey | | A farm dog. |
21 | Miskwanowe | | Woodrow Meloux's Ojibwe name. |
| Aini | Luukkonen | An outfitter who operated on Iron Lake near the town of Aurora. |
22 | Kitchimanidoo | | The Great Spirit. |
23 | Charlie | Chaplin | English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer. |
| Liam | O'Connor | A teacher from Chicago. |
| Dollie | Bellanger | A Mide. |
24 | Pedro | Romero | A matador. |
27 | Maurice | | Henry's acquaintance. |
| Hummingbird | | Maurice's wife. |
28 | Goodkin | | Leonard Wellington's acquaintance. |
29 | Pierre | | The best tracker in northern Ontario. |
32 | Edgar | Fineday | Henry's older cousin. |
33 | Ziibi-aawi | | A Mide. |
| Maanaajii-ngamo | | Ziibi-aawi's daughter. |
| | | PART III THE LAKE OF FIRE |
34 | Waagosh | | A Mide. |
| Lane | Pflugleman | Sean's father. |
35 | Johnny | Papp | Owner of Pinewood Broiler. |
| Virginia | | Sean's mother. |
| Ned | Green | A young priest. |
38 | Sandy | Benning | One of the security guys at the dock. |
| | Dougherty | One of the security guys at the dock. |
| Bob | Calhoun | An attorney in Alexandria, Virginia. |
| Preston | Ellsworth | Writer and director. |
41 | Shirley | Temple | American actress, singer, dancer. |
| Gloria | | One of the actors. |
43 | Roslyn | | Henry Wellington's wife. |
49 | Fran | | Jo's secretary. |