Desiree Vignes
Desiree Vignes is the twin of Stella Vignes. She grows up alongside Stella in Mallard and runs away with her to New Orleans as a teenager. Desiree is the more fun-loving and impulsive of the two. She marries Sam Winston, and has a child, Jude, with him. Desiree later leaves same because he abuses her. She enters a relationship with Early Jones, a bounty hunter originally hired by Sam to find her.
Desiree and Stella are both descended from the founder of the Louisiana town into which they are born. In the dog days of August in 1954 they run away from home together. The book is essentially a chronicle of their respective—and quite separate—lives following that decision.
Early Jones
Early Jones is a bounty hunter who is hired by Sam Winston to track down Desiree. Early recognizes Desiree as the teenage girl he met during the summer he spent in Mallard as a boy. Early comes to love Desiree deeply, and the two settle into an unconventional but successful partnership.
Leon Vignes
Leon is the father of Stella and Desiree. Leon is the victim of a lynching, which the two girls witness, when they are very young. This is a formative event for both of them that influences their decisions later in life.
Jude
Jude is the daughter of Desiree Vignes and Sam Winston. Jude is quiet and smart. Because she has darker skin, Jude experiences racism and colorism upon returning to Mallard with her mother, and has a difficult time living in the town. She moves to Los Angeles and pursues a medical degree at UCLA. At college, she meets Reese, and the two become a couple after a long friendship. Jude works at a catering company, which is where she initially encounters Stella. Jude keeps the secret of the current life that Stella leads from her mother. She befriends Stella's daughter Kennedy and is ultimately the one who reveals the truth about Stella's life.
Kennedy
Kennedy is the daughter of Stella and Blake Sanders. Kennedy grows up extremely privileged and somewhat racist. She eventually drops out of school to pursue an unsuccessful career in musical theater, disappointing her parents. She does not know her mother's actual past or racial identity until Jude confronts her with this information.
Stella Vignes
Stella Vignes is the twin sister of Desiree Vignes. She grows up alongside Desiree in Mallard and runs away to New Orleans with her as a teenager. Stella is very smart, and is devastated when she must stop school to take a job and help support her mother. She is quiet and serious. While she is trying to find a job in New Orleans, she begins to pretend to be white, and is able to pass as such. She eventually marries her white boss, Blake, and they have a daughter, Kennedy, together. Stella hides her actual racial identity from Blake and Kennedy. Stella grapples with the deep secret that she keeps for the rest of her life.
Reese
Reese is Jude's boyfriend. He is a photographer who enjoys capturing small moments in everyday life. Reese and Jude are friends for a long time before entering into a romantic relationship with one another. Reese is a trans man, and Jude's loyalty and support around his attaining top surgery is one way that love is demonstrated in their relationship.
