Ryan “Rye” Dolan is the primary protagonist and central point-of-view character of The Cold Millions. Born the son of an Irish immigrant miner in 1892, Rye is the youngest member of his family. One by one, he loses each member of his family. He is alone with his mother when she dies of tuberculosis. This fills Rye with a sense of melancholy when he is first introduced, as much of his life thus far has revolved around death. It also drives his attachment to his older brother Gig, who is the last living member of his family when the novel begins, though he too eventually dies in a car crash.

Rye is 16 when the novel begins and turns 17 over the course of its events. He enters the narrative with little formal education and works several temporary jobs from farming to logging. In Part 3 of the novel, Rye is given a job as a stock boy at a machine shop. This begins his career as a machinist, during which he develops an appreciation for literature. The first book he enjoys reading is Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which he initially checks out from the library for his brother but comes to quote regularly as he reads it.