Single & Single
Encyclopedia
Single and Single is a novel by John le Carré
. It is the story of a British Customs and Excise officer on the trail of elusive fraudster Tiger Single. Helped by Tiger's son Oliver, Brock of Customs and Excise unravels the mystery of an international money-laundering operation.
, Alfred Winser, a corporate lawyer with the London finance house Single & Single, is executed in cold blood by Alix Hoban, his firm's leading client, for reasons he cannot comprehend.
In Devon, England, Oliver Hawthorne is a down-at-heel children's magician lodging in a small hotel owned by a woman named Elsie and her son Sammy. After finishing his latest performance, he receives an urgent call from his banker, who informs him that an anonymous benefactor has deposited the staggering sum of £5,000,030 pounds into the trust Oliver created for his infant daughter, Carmen. Oliver claims ignorance, but tells Elsie he has to go to London for a few days.
, when Oliver - in reality Oliver Single - joins his father "Tiger" Single's firm just after graduating from law school. After the warming of relations with the Soviet Union
, several Western businesses are eager to explore business opportunities in the "new" Russia, and Tiger has secured a meeting with two Russian brothers, the Orlovs, renowned as Moscow
's "premier power brokers." Yevgeny Orlov and his right-hand man, Alix Hoban, discuss ventures with Tiger to restructure and exploit Soviet resources in scrap iron, oil
, and - most lucrative of all - surplus disaster relief blood
.
Though he has some misgivings, Oliver is enough in awe of his father to throw himself into facilitating the various deals, including traveling to Moscow, where he meets Yevgeny's daughter Zoya, whom Hoban is married to. Hoban has no regard for his wife, and she and Oliver soon become lovers.
All of Single & Single's plans collapse with the Soviet coup attempt of 1991
: overnight, the Soviet Union collapses and the Orlovs' power and vaunted connections are reduced to nothing. Tiger is undeterred, and sends Oliver out on various business errands that increase his misgivings. Before long, Single & Single and the Orlovs appear to be prosperous again.
After receiving cryptic hints from Zoya, Oliver raids his father's safe during the office Christmas
party, and a look through his records is enough to confirm Oliver's worst fears: the Orlovs have rebuilt their power structure as an organized crime syndicate, and his father's finance house is a money laundering
service.
In turmoil, Oliver informs on his father to Nathaniel Brock, a senior officer of British Customs and Excise, and then disappears. Now, years later, the deposit into his daughter's trust makes Oliver realize that his father is on to him. Tiger once made a promise to deposit £5,000,000 pounds into a trust as soon as Oliver gave him a grandchild; the extra £30 signifies the Thirty pieces of silver
given to Judas Iscariot
.
interdicted and boarded the freighter
Free Talinn in the Baltic Sea
. Tiger has disappeared, and Brock needs Oliver's help to track him down.
As a Customs official, Brock's obsession is corrupt British officials who aid international crime, and his "personal anti-Christ" is Superintendent
Bernard Porlock, a "brazenly corrupt" Scotland Yard
official who controls a vast network of such corrupt officials all over the United Kingdom
, and a long-time cohort of Tiger's.
Brock tells Oliver that he is prepared to offer Tiger full immunity
, in exchange for enough information to bring down Porlock and his network. Oliver, who still suffers feelings of guilt for betraying his father, agrees to help save him.
The story reads like many of le Carré's earlier spy novels, and much spycraft is applied in the hunt for Tiger Single. Now that the wall is down, the enemy is not so clearly defined. In his search for his father, he realises that his betrayal was not the only one.
The book takes the reader to Georgia, Istanbul and a greedy, sparkling West End of London.
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
. It is the story of a British Customs and Excise officer on the trail of elusive fraudster Tiger Single. Helped by Tiger's son Oliver, Brock of Customs and Excise unravels the mystery of an international money-laundering operation.
Synopsis
Like many of Le Carre's novels, the narrative begins in the in media res style, midway through the events which have precipitated the opening scene.Present Day
In IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Alfred Winser, a corporate lawyer with the London finance house Single & Single, is executed in cold blood by Alix Hoban, his firm's leading client, for reasons he cannot comprehend.
In Devon, England, Oliver Hawthorne is a down-at-heel children's magician lodging in a small hotel owned by a woman named Elsie and her son Sammy. After finishing his latest performance, he receives an urgent call from his banker, who informs him that an anonymous benefactor has deposited the staggering sum of £5,000,030 pounds into the trust Oliver created for his infant daughter, Carmen. Oliver claims ignorance, but tells Elsie he has to go to London for a few days.
1990s
The narrative shifts to the early 1990s1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, when Oliver - in reality Oliver Single - joins his father "Tiger" Single's firm just after graduating from law school. After the warming of relations with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, several Western businesses are eager to explore business opportunities in the "new" Russia, and Tiger has secured a meeting with two Russian brothers, the Orlovs, renowned as Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's "premier power brokers." Yevgeny Orlov and his right-hand man, Alix Hoban, discuss ventures with Tiger to restructure and exploit Soviet resources in scrap iron, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, and - most lucrative of all - surplus disaster relief blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
.
Though he has some misgivings, Oliver is enough in awe of his father to throw himself into facilitating the various deals, including traveling to Moscow, where he meets Yevgeny's daughter Zoya, whom Hoban is married to. Hoban has no regard for his wife, and she and Oliver soon become lovers.
All of Single & Single's plans collapse with the Soviet coup attempt of 1991
Soviet coup attempt of 1991
The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
: overnight, the Soviet Union collapses and the Orlovs' power and vaunted connections are reduced to nothing. Tiger is undeterred, and sends Oliver out on various business errands that increase his misgivings. Before long, Single & Single and the Orlovs appear to be prosperous again.
After receiving cryptic hints from Zoya, Oliver raids his father's safe during the office Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
party, and a look through his records is enough to confirm Oliver's worst fears: the Orlovs have rebuilt their power structure as an organized crime syndicate, and his father's finance house is a money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
service.
In turmoil, Oliver informs on his father to Nathaniel Brock, a senior officer of British Customs and Excise, and then disappears. Now, years later, the deposit into his daughter's trust makes Oliver realize that his father is on to him. Tiger once made a promise to deposit £5,000,000 pounds into a trust as soon as Oliver gave him a grandchild; the extra £30 signifies the Thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the Christian New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins...
given to Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
.
Present Day
Oliver meets with Brock, who informs him that the Orlovs had Winser killed after a series of "business" setbacks, the last occurring a few weeks ago when the Russian Coast GuardRussian Coast Guard
The Russian Coast Guard , previously known as the KGB Maritime Border Guard or the Russian Maritime Border Guard of the Border Guard Service of Russia under the Federal Security Service of Russia , has a significant combat capability.Ships of the Russian Coast Guard are:*Frigates : 6 - Nerei...
interdicted and boarded the freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
Free Talinn in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Tiger has disappeared, and Brock needs Oliver's help to track him down.
As a Customs official, Brock's obsession is corrupt British officials who aid international crime, and his "personal anti-Christ" is Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
Bernard Porlock, a "brazenly corrupt" Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
official who controls a vast network of such corrupt officials all over the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and a long-time cohort of Tiger's.
Brock tells Oliver that he is prepared to offer Tiger full immunity
Immunity
-Medicine:* Immunity , resistance of an organism to infection or disease.* Immunity , a scientific journal published by Cell Press-Law:*Amnesty law, immunity from past crimes...
, in exchange for enough information to bring down Porlock and his network. Oliver, who still suffers feelings of guilt for betraying his father, agrees to help save him.
Themes
Oliver Single is a complex character, disaffected and clumsy, a giant of a man, who has tried for years to lose his identity. He gave up a glittering lifestyle and career for his principles. However, he cannot abandon his father and risks everything to save him, even though, in a moment of pure clarity, he sees his father for the empty and amoral scoundrel he really is.The story reads like many of le Carré's earlier spy novels, and much spycraft is applied in the hunt for Tiger Single. Now that the wall is down, the enemy is not so clearly defined. In his search for his father, he realises that his betrayal was not the only one.
The book takes the reader to Georgia, Istanbul and a greedy, sparkling West End of London.