| | | | 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. |
