57 pages • 1 hour read
Mick HerronA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
River has spent three weeks undercover in the quiet, boring town of Upshott, which is next to a Royal Air Force base with a small civilian airstrip for hobbyists. River is pretending to be a novelist, researching his next book. He is seeing a local woman named Kelly Tropper, who works at the Downside Man, the local pub. Kelly’s parents moved to Upshott when she was young. After sleeping with Kelly, River peeks at her sketchbook. Two styles catch his eye: aerial photographs, as she is an amateur pilot, and a highly stylized cityscape during a storm, surrounded by crossed-out words. River reports back to Lamb about his failure to find any information regarding Mr. B.
Pashkin is in London for the meeting. Three weeks have passed since Min’s death, and Louisa is now paired with Marcus. As much as she does not like this, she is determined to stay on this job. She took one day to mourn before meeting with Webb to reiterate her commitment to the assignment. Most people, Webb included, presumed that Min died because he went cycling in the rain while drunk. She fantasized about killing Webb once she killed those responsible for Min’s death. Louisa and Marcus meet with Piotr and Kyril, who introduce them to Pashkin. Louisa insists that everything is under control. Pashkin asks to visit the skyscraper, the Needle, that will host the meeting. He wants to be sure that he is comfortable there. Webb gives his approval, so Pashkin prepares to visit the Needle. As they wait, Marcus comments to Louisa, wondering about the Russian oligarch’s true intentions. She is surprised by Marcus’s suspicion that Webb wants to recruit Pashkin as an intelligence asset. Marcus suggests Pashkin will receive the backing of British intelligence should he try to take over Russia in the future.
After Lamb leaves the office, claiming to be doing laundry, Catherine reviews the profiles of Upshott residents. Most are retirees, and none seem interesting. Catherine is concerned about River; she wonders whether Upshott is home to “a cicada, who [is] getting ready to sing” (179). Shirley enters with something to interest her—another CCTV image of Mr. B. at Gatwick Airport, catching a plane to Prague.
On the night Min died, Webb visited the scene. He is pleased, believing that he averted disaster by warning Diana Taverner about what happened. Though he assured her that Min’s death was an accident, he convinced Taverner to ensure that no investigation took place to avoid interference with the recruitment of Pashkin.
Louisa studies Pashkin as they sit in traffic. She tries not to think about Min. They arrive at the Needle, which has recently opened but is already populated by international conglomerates, wealthy inhabitants, and a luxurious hotel. The office where the meeting will take place is not listed on the building’s paperwork. Pashkin is assured that there will be no cameras or recording devices. Louisa tries to keep her mind away from Min by watching an air ambulance. Pashkin suggests that they try the emergency exits, but Louisa would rather use the elevator. After escorting Pashkin and his entourage back to the hotel, Louisa and Marcus travel home. Marcus insists on talking about Pashkin as they pass posters for the following day’s political rally. She dismisses his concerns and focuses on the night ahead of her.
Lamb reaches the launderette, where he meets a fellow elderly intelligence operative named Sam Chapman. Until a “high-profile mess involving an industrial amount of money” (190), Chapman was Head Dog and now works for a detective agency. Chapman hands Lamb an envelope containing the results of a private investigation that Lamb requested. Outside, Lamb reads the contents of the envelope. He arrives back at Slough House, where Catherine and Shirley present him with Mr. B.’s name: Andrei Chernitsky. Lamb correctly guesses that Chernitsky is an unremarkable Russian intelligence operative. Catherine believes that Chernitsky is one of the two men who kidnapped Dickie in Berlin, the other being Popov. This explains why Dickie dropped everything to follow him, which Catherine believes was a trap laid by the Russians many years in advance. Whatever plan might have been devised two decades earlier may now have been adapted and set in motion. She believes that one of the residents of Upshott may be one of the long-buried Cicadas, putting River in danger. Lamb recommends that they wait until someone makes a move. He shows her Chapman’s report about the driver who killed Min. Despite their investigations, the Dogs did not catch her links to the Russian underworld.
River visits the pub while thinking about his mission. He has quickly familiarized himself with the town. Kelly’s father is a solicitor with a local practice, while Kelly works in the Downside Man. She is a member of the local flying club, which operates on the fringes of the nearby Ministry of Defense base. River plans to enter the base at night to search for clues.
River enters the Downside Man and greets the locals, including members of the flying club. He talks about Ray Hadley, the head of the flying club and one of the few Upshott residents that River has yet to meet. At the bar, he speaks to Kelly. She will be flying the next day but invites him to meet her later. That evening, River walks with a local man named Griff Yates. They walk the perimeter of the base until they reach a secret entrance, known only to locals like Yates. They walk along a muddy track until they reach several abandoned buildings. Inside one of the buildings, River loses sight of Yates. A sudden light blinds him, and he realizes that the artillery range is being used for a live-fire training exercise.
Louisa exits the train among a big crowd, dressed elegantly and carrying pepper spray and plastic handcuffs in her handbag. Arriving at the hotel where Pashkin is staying, she arranges to meet him in the bar. She wonders what Min would think about what she was doing. Pashkin studies her arrival with “a wolfish gleam in his eye” (208). Pashkin suggests that they stroll through the city, assuring her that Piotr and Kyril will not join them. She assures him that their meeting is “entirely personal.” She does not notice the figure following them. At the restaurant, they drink wine. Pashkin proposes a toast to the memory of Min. Louisa forces herself to match his toast. She ignores her buzzing telephone as Pashkin talks about how the political march might affect their meeting. As they eat, she thinks about how she will interrogate Pashkin. She is grabbed by an unseen figure.
Roderick Ho is interrupted by the arrival of Catherine in his office. Outside, Shirley reflects on her outcast status in Slough House. She wants to know what is happening, so she listens to the conversation between Ho and Catherine. She does not hear Lamb approach her from behind. Much to his chagrin, Ho obeys Catherine’s request. Outside, Lamb and Catherine talk about Shirley listening at the door. They speculate about who might be Taverner’s mole inside Slough House and chat about the status of the mission. Lamb recommends waiting to hear from River, who will find a clue on the base. Ho runs Catherine’s data through his computers. Something catches his eye.
Webb imagines River being envious of his large apartment. Though they were once friends, Webb’s envy of River caused him to become “instrumental in River’s downgrading to slow horse” (222). During last year’s excitement, River hit Webb in the face, which only intensified Webb’s need to triumph over River in every conceivable way. Recruiting Pashkin is part of this competition, as he hopes to win the favor of Ingrid Tearney. Pashkin made the initial approach and most of the arrangements, causing Webb to congratulate himself on his good fortune. The meeting is set in the offices of a trading consultancy. Webb assures himself that Min’s death was accidental. He looks forward to the following day.
Pashkin leads Louisa through a park back to his hotel, where she makes excuses to leave. Her plans to interrogate Pashkin have been abandoned. He summons her a taxi, which she exits quickly. Marcus approaches. He was the person who surprised her in the restaurant, taking her pepper spray and handcuffs and dissuading her from her plan. Marcus was watching her back to prevent her from acting emotionally. She assures him that she will be at the meeting the following day.
Amid the explosions, a man in a red cap finds River curled up beneath a tree. He leads River away, at which point River recognizes the stranger as Tommy Moult, an Upshott resident. They have never talked, but Moult claims to be out “picking up strays” (236). Yates wanted to scare River, Moult says, as he is in love with Kelly. Moult leads River deeper into the base. In the clubhouse of the flying club, Moult produces a bottle of chilled alcohol and drinks with River. River examines the photographs, recognizing Ray Hadley. River receives a call from Catherine.
Meanwhile, Ho reports his findings to Catherine and Lamb. He shows that 17 of Upshott’s families moved to the area in the space of a few months in 1991. Lamb orders Ho to find out more about the residents. Catherine praises Ho. Lamb and Catherine talk about the findings. Of the 17 families, 12 have children now in their 20s. Lamb wonders whether the sleeper agents even know about each other. Their normal lives, Catherine speculates, may now just be who they are. Now, someone is trying to rouse the sleeper agents. They resolve to warn River. River is shocked to learn that Upshott is filled with potential Russian sleeper agents. Moult is not among the names on the list, though Kelly’s parents are, as are many members of the flying club. Catherine also mentions that Min’s death may not have been an accident. The call ends, and River sees Moult swallow something with his drink. River takes a look around the plane hangar and inspects the small plane. He finds something strange under a pile of sacks, and something hits him on the neck. He collapses.
With Catherine on the telephone, Lamb sips whisky and ponders the choice of Upshott. He examines a map. He visits Katinsky at the Wentworth Academy. The office seems empty; Lamb looks around, finding only a love letter ending an affair. The letter is left in a conspicuous place. Katinsky is not present, so Lamb leaves.
The three-week chronological jump forward provides a point of contrast between the two main characters. In Part 1, Louisa was cautiously optimistic. She was allowing herself to dream of a future where she was back in Regent’s Park and in a loving relationship. The death of Min changed these plans. Now, three weeks later, she is bitterly determined about a different kind of future. The contrast between Louisa in Part 1 and Part 2 is that of a woman who has plowed through the grieving process in a rushed manner and with a tragic conclusion. She is set on revenge in any way possible, and her impulsiveness foreshadows The Unsatisfactory Nature of Revenge. This desire for revenge is consuming her to the point where she is willing to end her professional career and destroy any chance of redemption. Any thought of returning to Regent’s Park died alongside Min. Louisa’s rapid transformation from a hopeful agent to a woman obsessed with vengeance highlights the psychological toll of grief and the destructive power of unresolved emotions. Her quest for justice becomes her new identity, eclipsing all else, even her own well-being, and collapsing The Link Between Identity and Performance.
The time jump also creates a juxtaposition between the ambitious but frustrated River and a River who is beginning to have his ambitions realized. Lamb sends him on an undercover operation and, in the space of three weeks, River believes that he has fully integrated himself into the community of Upshott. He is undercover and living his dream of being a spy. This is River’s chance to live the stories told to him by his grandfather, and the time jump of three weeks shows how enthusiastically he has seized this opportunity. Not only is he part of the community, but he is also in a sexual relationship with a local woman named Kelly. This relationship is not a necessary part of his undercover work, and it leads him no closer to uncovering whatever is hidden in Upshott, but it does show the extent to which River is determined to play the role of stereotypical spy that he has learned from books, movies, and his grandfather’s stories. River is not just playing the role of Jonathan Walker, he is playing the role of undercover spy. River’s immersion in this fantasy of espionage mirrors his disillusionment with his current position and the mundane reality of Slough House. His relationship with Kelly reflects his attempt to prove to himself that he can still embody the thrill of spycraft, even if it is just in his mind. This escapism demonstrates the tension between the ideals of espionage and the harsh reality of his assignment.
The town of Upshott confounds River’s investigations. To outsiders, the quaint community feels quintessentially English. On closer inspection, however, it seems decidedly hollow. There is no real local economy; everyone lives in retirement or a liminal space. There is simply nothing happening in Upshott. River struggles to untangle this uncanniness. He cannot quite explain to Lamb and his fellow slow horses why Upshott is so strange, yet he remains suspicious. The uncanniness of Upshott refers to The Link Between Identity and Performance: Upshott performs the identity of a quintessential English town just like a spy operating under an assumed name, or like River himself. The town’s facade as an idyllic, picturesque setting hides the sinister truth that it is a carefully constructed performance, much like the covert lives of spies. Just as River adopts the identity of a novelist, Upshott plays the role of a quiet, unassuming town, masking the deep cover operations within its walls. This parallel between the town and the individuals spying on it reinforces the novel’s exploration of deception and hidden motives.
Over the course of Dead Lions, a professional relationship emerges between Ho and Catherine. In generational terms, they could not be more different. Catherine is a relic from the past, an MI5 employee traumatized by her proximity to the world of espionage and who is only beginning to piece herself back together. Ho is a technological wizard with no personal skills, someone who has no interest in the past or people beyond what he can find on the internet. Furthermore, Ho is an odious person: He plots to destroy the lives of people who do not even know that he exists, even though he is subconsciously aware that he lacks the wherewithal to take advantage of the situations that he is trying to create. He is beholden to his weaknesses, invested in the world of technology because he understands computers as logical entities. To Ho, people are not logical and should therefore be ignored. Ho’s detachment from the human side of espionage highlights a recurring idea in the novel: the tension between technology and personal connection. Ho’s reliance on the cold logic of computers contrasts sharply with Catherine’s empathy and human intuition, suggesting that even in a world driven by technology, personal understanding and human relationships remain essential.
Catherine is utterly different from Ho. She has little more than a passing interest in technology; she has been alive long enough to see technology evolve and change beyond all familiarity. Humans, however, have stayed the same and she knows how to read humans as well as Ho knows how to operate computers. She manipulates Ho in a gentle, subtle manner. He is aware of this manipulation, but he cannot refuse her. They compensate for one another’s failings, forging a partnership that merges the technological and the human. This partnership between Catherine and Ho embodies the novel’s exploration of how people with opposing skills can still find common ground in the world of espionage. Catherine’s emotional intelligence complements Ho’s technological prowess, creating a balanced dynamic that challenges the notion that one skill set is superior to another. Their collaboration represents a synthesis of the old and the new, the personal and the impersonal, which is crucial in a world of espionage where both human insight and technological capability are needed to survive.
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