Leah “Lee” Westfall, a sixteen-year-old girl
Jefferson Kingfisher, Lee’s fiancé
The Joyners
Rebekah “Becky” Joyner, a widow from Tennessee
Olive Joyner, her seven-year-old daughter
Andrew Joyner Jr., her five-year-old son
Baby Girl Joyner, an infant
The Glory, California Crew
“Major” Wally Craven, former wagon train leader
Hampton Freeman, formerly Bledsoe
Mary, Lee’s friend
Old Tug and the Buckeyes, miners from Ohio
Wilhelm, a hired thug turned blacksmith
The Illinois College Men
Jasper Clapp, a doctor
Thomas Bigler, a lawyer
Henry Meek, currently seeking employment
Others, in San Francisco
James Henry Hardwick, a wealthy businessman
Miss Helena Russell, an associate of Hardwick’s
Jim Boisclair, a former store owner from Dahlonega, Georgia
“Mr. Keys,” Hardwick’s accountant
Frank Dilley, a hired gun
Sheriff Purcell
Sonia, a pickpocket
Billy, a young orphan and thief
Melancthon Jones, a ship’s carpenter and cook