Eye of the Needle

Percival “Percy” Godliman is a historian currently working on a biography of Henry II. A secretary reminds him that he needs to leave for lunch with his uncle, Colonel Andrew Terry. At lunch, Terry confesses he is still working with the Army trying to find German spies recruited and trained by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of Abwehr. Terry says he wants Percy to come work with him. Percy considers this as he walks back to the university, his thoughts interrupted by an air raid siren. Percy goes into the tube station and sits on the platform, where he listens to the random conversations of the people around him. Then everyone on the platform spontaneously begins to sing, causing Percy to feel a sense of community with his fellow Londoners. Percy decides to accept Terry’s request to work with him.

In August of 1940, Lucy and David Rose get married. David is expected to join his unit in the RAF as a pilot the following day. When Lucy goes to her room to change, her mother attempts to offer advice on the wedding night, but Lucy brushes her off. In truth, Lucy and David have already been sexually intimate on two occasions. The first was during a visit to David’s family home, and the other was just a week before the wedding at her parents’ home. This second time caused an argument because David was bothered by Lucy’s directness in regard to her desires.

Lucy and David say their goodbyes to their guests and drive away. They share a bottle of champagne. David drives too fast and struggles to keep the car under control. Due to the light restrictions, it is difficult to see curves in the road and oncoming traffic. The car spins out on a curve, and as David struggles to get it under control, a truck comes toward them. David is unable to get control quickly enough, and there is a head-on collision.

Percy joins MI5, a division of military intelligence, in September 1940. Terry explains to Percy that most of the German spies living in Britain appear to have been hastily chosen and trained, many of them getting caught because of simple mistakes. Most captured spies are in prison awaiting execution, but MI5 uses several of them to transmit false information to Germany. However, this strategy makes it vital that MI5 finds as many of Germany’s spies as possible to prevent them from sending true information that might contradict the false information.

Terry introduces Percy to Frederick Bloggs, a former Scotland Yard inspector. Bloggs tells Percy how they trace potential spies. They get information from immigration records, and they have a team that monitors wireless radio transmissions. They also have double agents who offer information on potential spies. One spy they have been following is a man referred to as Die Nadel, or the Needle. Bloggs says that this man is more professional than the other spies, as evidenced by his carefully worded messages and the strength of his information. Percy is concerned that their lack of information about this spy will make it difficult to find him.

Lucy and David move to Storm Island, a small island near Aberdeen, Scotland, that David’s father owns. There are only two cottages on the island, one belonging to Tom McAvity, a shepherd who cares for the sheep on the island. The other is empty, a perfect place for Lucy and David to recover from the injuries they received in their car accident. David is using a wheelchair because he lost both his legs. A small boat arrives every two weeks, delivering groceries, supplies, and mail. Tom takes them to the cottage, which was recently renovated with fresh paint and the addition of indoor plumbing to provide a bathroom and kitchen extension. In the garage is a new jeep, which has been modified to allow David to drive it. Tom also explains that they have a generator that powers the home with alternating current, and that he has a radio transmitter because he is “an enemy aircraft spotter for the Royal Observer Corps” (60).

David throws himself into the work of sheep farming, building fences and felling trees. However, at home he is moody and refuses to have marital relations with Lucy. The psychologist in the hospital warned Lucy that the accident could cause David to struggle emotionally. On Christmas Day, Lucy tells David she is pregnant. It happened the week before their wedding. David is not happy because he cannot imagine he would be a good father with his physical limitations. Lucy is already unhappy in her marriage and made more so by David’s apathy toward the pregnancy. Three weeks before the baby is due, Lucy takes the boat to Aberdeen. She returns a month later with a baby boy. They name him Jonathan but decide to call him Jo. David shows only mild interest in Jo, but Tom adores him, coming over often to spend time with him.

After Lucy fully recovers from giving birth, she tries to reignite the intimacy between herself and David, but David refuses her, blaming his disinterest on his lost legs. Lucy walks along the cliffs that night and considers ending her marriage. However, she understands that David is struggling with his injuries and the fact that he is unable to serve in the war like other men. Lucy believes he will one day find a way to feel like a man again and he will return to the person she married. She decides she can be strong and wait for that to happen.

Two men are working on a wireless radio transmitter in an underground bunker in North Hamburg, Germany. They receive a message from Die Nadel informing them that St. Paul’s Cathedral was not hit in the recent bombings. This message inspires the older man to brag that he trained Die Nadel on the use of the wireless radio transmitter. He tells the younger man that Die Nadel is highly independent and very intelligent. There is a rumor that he was able to place himself in a position of trust in Stalin’s government. The older man also insists that Die Nadel is one of Hitler’s most trusted spies. The older man says that Die Nadel doesn’t like his code name because it has meaning and a name with meaning makes a man vulnerable to being caught.