Band of Angels

A privileged daughter of a Kentucky plantation owner who learns her mother was enslaved, Amantha navigates a society where status and bodies are commodities. She passes as white and seeks autonomy, education, and belonging amid exploitation. Her love for Hamish tests loyalties and resilience, driving much of the story's emotional core.

Former enslaved man who becomes Hamish's right-hand and a source of moral tension. He values dignity and freedom while wrestling with loyalty to his master and his own sense of justice. His efforts to aid Amantha and pursue fairness reveal the complexity of emancipation within a coercive system.

Plantation owner who has repented for his role in slavery, offering Amantha respect and education while carrying the burden of his past. He believes himself unworthy of her, complicating their romance and underscoring tensions between redemption and pride. His relationship with Amantha faces social sanction and personal guilt.

Housekeeper and former lover to Hamish who knows the plantation's inner workings. She acts as Amantha's confidante and tries to aid her escape, navigating loyalty, danger, and self-preservation. Michele's choices illuminate the peril and agency of enslaved and freed Black women.

Neighboring planter who assaults Amantha, embodying patriarchal violence and white male entitlement. Rau-Ru intervenes, knocking him unconscious and setting off a chain of consequences that reshape loyalties and danger.

Union officer who courts Amantha, representing romantic longing within wartime duty. His pursuit contrasts with Parton's manipulation and Amantha's fidelity to Hamish, highlighting competing pressures of love and loyalty.

Former abolitionist turned Union captain who exerts moral influence over Amantha and tests her truth. His wartime position collides with personal ambition and the era's unpredictable social codes.

Amantha's father whose death exposes the secret of Amantha's lineage and whom wealth and status once protected, laying the groundwork for the drama surrounding slavery's legacy.