Tanner Hughes is one of the main characters of the novel. He grew up with his grandparents, moving from place to place throughout his childhood because of his grandfather’s time in the military. Tanner’s mother Monica Hughes died in childbirth and he has never known his biological father. His grandmother’s death at the novel’s start acts as the inciting event of Tanner’s storyline. On her deathbed, she tells Tanner his biological dad’s name and the town where he lives. Her revelation therefore inspires Tanner to visit Asheboro, North Carolina to find David Johnson after he sells his late grandparents’ house in Pensacola, Florida.

Tanner is a restless, adventure-seeking character who’s lived his entire life on the move. Although Tanner “had everything [he] needed growing up,” he often longed for more closeness with his grandfather in particular (212). He didn’t realize until years later that “losing his daughter” might have impacted his grandfather’s capacity for intimacy and inspired “the distance between [them]” (212). In the narrative present, therefore, Tanner is still seeking a sense of home, belonging, and family. Because of his grandfather’s influence, “the army seemed like a natural fit” for Tanner, and ultimately inspired his tenure as an Army Ranger—a job which kept him traveling throughout his adult life (158).