Female, 18+ to play early 20s. Red-haired runaway and trafficking survivor. Fragile, damaged, funny in flashes, streetwise by necessity, still emotionally young underneath the damage. She is not just a victim; she is the live wire that forces Saul back into the world. Needs raw vulnerability, volatility, and the ability to carry trauma without playing it soft.

Male, 40s-50s, Nigerian-born / African or Black. Detective Riley. Quiet, patient, relentless. His own sister was trafficked, and that wound drives him through a corrupt system that wants the case buried. Controlled, observant, morally dangerous. Needs stillness, intelligence, and a slow-burn intensity.

Male, 50s-60s. J.T. Tomlinson, wealthy New Orleans power broker. Publicly respectable, privately rotten. Old money, political connections, family-values rhetoric, and absolute corruption underneath. Physically substantial, charming when needed, terrifying because he believes the system belongs to him.

Male, 50s. Former Tulane literature professor turned ruined New Orleans cab driver. Divorced, exhausted, sleepless, drug-frayed, haunted by the loss of his daughter. A broken working-class father whose grief hardens into violence. Needs intelligence under collapse — not a superhero, not a thug, but a man who has been hollowed out and pushed past the line.

Male, 40s-60s. Corrupt detective sergeant. Smooth enough to survive inside the department, dirty enough to control evidence, headlines, and bodies. He is the system’s fixer — practical, cynical, and completely bought. Needs authority, menace, and institutional rot.