key characters
Alaska
15, sharp-eyed, restless, emotionally adrift.
Alaska hides a deep ache behind a tough, disaffected exterior. Sent to spend the summer in rural Florida, she’s not quite running from something — but she’s definitely not running toward anything either. Wry, observant, and smarter than she lets on, Alaska is caught between the privileged world she comes from and the raw, chaotic one she finds herself in. She longs for connection, but her relationships blur into performance — until she meets Dove, and things get messy, fast.
Dove
Late teens, soft-spoken, magnetic, haunted.
A beautiful boy with the quiet intensity of someone twice his age. Dove is equal parts Southern charm and mystery, with the kind of presence that makes you want to follow him anywhere. He lives with one foot in a dream and the other in a grim reality — working odd jobs, running scams, and turning tricks under the eye of his volatile “brother.” There’s a spiritual weight to him, a fragility buried beneath the confidence. He sees something in Alaska — maybe a mirror, maybe a way out.
Summer
Late 30s–40s, Alaska’s aunt, sharp-tongued, wasted wisdom.
Bleach buzzcut, Marlboro in hand, always one drink ahead of the curve. Summer is a Southern burnout with a flash of preacher energy — part party girl, part prophet. She oscillates between neglectful and oddly profound, offering Alaska harsh truths, bad habits, and maybe the closest thing to guidance she’s ever had. Summer is what Alaska could become if she stays too long — both a cautionary tale and the ghost of every girl who never left.
Russ
Late 20s to early 30s, Dove’s “brother,” grinning menace.
A wolf in denim and gas station cologne. Russ is the kind of man who talks big, shoots guns, and handles business — usually the kind that leaves bruises. He traffics in control, setting up Dove’s “jobs” while making sure no one asks too many questions. He plays the big brother role when it suits him, but loyalty always comes second to survival. To Alaska, he’s both a threat and a window into Dove’s past.