Lizzie Benson
Lizzie is the narrator and protagonist of the story. She is a librarian on a university campus who often feels insecure because she does not have a degree. Lizzie often finds herself having to care for the other people in her life, particularly her drug-addict brother and her religion-obsessed mother. When she takes the job responding to podcast listeners, she begins to grow anxious about the future. Lizzie starts to frequent doomsday prepper websites where she learns how to use a can of tuna fish to make a lamp and considers whether it would be best to move somewhere colder.
Ben
Ben is Lizzie’s husband, a man who received his PhD in classics but had to take a job in IT when he was unable to get hired anywhere. He becomes increasingly nervous about the news, which the story alludes to being Donald Trump’s election, and begins to join Lizzie in determining what they would need to create a doomstead.
Eli
Eli is Lizzie’s son, who is in a gifted program at his school (called the EAGLES). She is very concerned about protecting him as she learns more about the impending climate crisis, although he remains largely unaware. She often struggles to answer his big questions throughout the story.
Henry
Henry is Lizzie’s brother, who is a recovering drug addict. After the birth of his daughter, he becomes incredibly paranoid and collapses back into his addiction. Henry and Lizzie are called 'enmeshed' by Margot, as the two are quite co-dependent. This is especially true of Henry who moves in with his sister and relies heavily on her as the story progresses.
Sylvia Liller
Sylvia is a Lizzie’s former mentor who now hosts a podcast called Hell and High Water where she discusses the impending climate crisis. She offers Lizzie a job answering the emails she receives from listeners to her podcast. Sylvia is very practical, telling Lizzie that the only way to keep her son safe is to become rich.
Margot
Margot is described as a shrink and a Buddhist, who Lizzie says tries to practice on her. She teaches a community meditation class which Lizzie sometimes attends, although she also becomes an impromptu psychologist for Henry and Lizzie when Henry begins to relapse into his drug addiction. She is described as a good listener, who is able to pay attention without contributing her own stories.
Catherine
Catherine works for an ad agency, where she meets Henry and begins to date him. She is also a recovering addict. Catherine is described as being very involved and proactive, and she invests her time into helping Henry by convincing him to move into her apartment and getting him a job.
Mr. Jimmy
Lizzie uses Mr. Jimmy’s car service throughout the story as she worries that she is his only client and that, without her, he won’t have any business. She remains loyal to him throughout the story even though she says that his service is slower and more expensive than she can afford.
Will
Will is a war reporter whom Lizzie meets and befriends when Ben goes to stay at his parent's house with Eli. The two begin a flirtation.
Tracy
A friend of Lizzie's who works at the bar Burrow where she use to work. She has been dating a horrible guy for the last six month who lives in Philadelphia. Tracy would rather have the bad guy instead of the safe guy. She encourages Lizzie to have an affair with Will while her family is away. Although they are friends, they do not seem that close. They are complete opposites.
