| A | B |
|---|
| Hester Brandt | female servant of Jane Withersteen's and works on the Withersteen mansion. She has known Jane for many years but betrays her and spies on Jane for the Mormon elders. Jane catches Hester spying behind a door and tells her to leave the estate forever. Hester is married to Collier Brandt. |
| Collier Brandt | Polygamous Mormon who yells at Lassiter that there are gods waiting for him because Lassiter has not followed any specific religion and has sinned. He plays an overall minor role. |
| Matthew Blake | a Mormon man and a long time resident of Cottonwoods. Although he follows his church and faith devoutly, he doesn't hold the same prejudice as other Mormons against people who have a different religion. He talks to Lassiter at the beginning of the novel and helps him out a bit, giving directions and water for his horse. |
| Dorn | he holds nothing against people of a different faith, often taking a neutral stance. He talks with Lassiter as well but the two men are stiff and polite to each other |
| Oldring's Rustlers | These men are rough-and-tumble cattle thieves who have expertly adapted to this way of life. The Mormon Elders allow them to stay in and around Cottonwoods, where they steal cattle from residents and often move northward to sell them on the open market. They can sometimes be seen as a branch of the elders in terms of what they add to the plot stylistically and highlight a stereotypical problem of the West due to a lack of centralized government and law enforcement. |
| Mormon Elders | A corrupt group of men that are at the top of the Mormon Church's hierarchy. Extremely unpleasant and egotistical, they despise anyone who thinks or acts differently. They are the central antagonists in the novel. |
| Bern Venters | not the type of character that would stand out. Short, small, and a little coy, he manages to find himself in a romantic relationship with Jane. However, the other men in the town hate this relationship and make his life miserable, banishing him to an existence of solitude. |
| Judkins | Jane's non-Mormon cattle ranch hand, who assists her with taking care of the herds. |
| Oldring | a minor character in the book. He is a rustler, also known as a cattle thief, and just as his name suggests, he stole Jane's herd. |
| Elder Tull | This is the despicable man at the top of the Mormon hierarchy. He wants to marry Jane because of the vast wealth Jane's late father left behind for her but she refuses, which infuriates him. |
| Milly Erne | Occupier of a grave at Cottonwoods |
| Bishop Dyer | He is one of the high-ranking officials in the Mormon church. He is used to people following what he says and hates insubordination. A squat, baldish man, he loathes Jane for her criticism of the church. |
| Jim Lassiter | The typical Western cowboy. He lives a simple life out in the West and commits every action based on a sacred set of principles he holds. While he enjoys using weapons and is fairly talented at doing so, this horseback rider should not be mistaken as a violent man, and only uses his guns for justice. |
| Jane Withersteen | the protagonist of the story and resembles the opposite of typical female stereotypes. She is low to the ground and built for business, and acts freely. As a devout Mormon, she criticizes contradictory actions of the Church and is not afraid to speak her mind. Despite being brave, she is vulnerable to the attacks and harassment of the ill-wishing men in the novel. This book revolves around the struggle she has within herself, between her religion and her love. |
