Our Man in Havana

Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana, a 1958 satirical spy novel, evokes the political atmosphere in Cuba on the cusp of the Communist takeover and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Relevant and well-received, the novel has been adapted into a film, a play, and an opera. Greene was himself a member of M16, the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service, and his background allowed him to portray both accurately and comically the behind-the-scenes espionage antics that make up much of the novel’s plot.

Plot Summary

James Wormold, a middle-aged English vacuum cleaner salesman living in the heart of Havana, Cuba has very little going for him. Business is slow, his wife has left him, and his 16-year-old daughter, Milly, is difficult and demanding. She is pious and religious, yet materialistic and superficial, and nothing Wormold does seems to make her happy.

One night at the local bar, a man named Hawthorne approaches Wormold offering a position as a spy in Havana for M16, Britain’s Secret Service. Wormold is a terrible fit for the job, but since he is desperate for money, he signs on.

However, Wormold, now known by his code name 59200/5, does not complete a single mission. Instead, he decides to fabricate his reports to M16. He starts crafting small stories, but gradually, they grow crazier as they start to involve real people. Wormold thumbs through the local newspaper, stealing the names of local country club members and using them to create personas. He even starts to collect the salaries of assistant agents who don’t exist.

Oblivious to her father’s new job, Milly basks in his newfound fortune. The only person Wormold comes clean to is his best friend, a physician and veteran named Dr. Hasselbacher. One day, Wormold decides to make his report a little juicier to keep the attention of M16. He makes up a story about a secret Communist military base that he has uncovered, complete with blueprints, except that the drawings he sends to London aren’t missiles or weapons but blown-up, zoomed-in schematics of a vacuum cleaner.

London takes this new development seriously. They send out a team to help Wormold succeed in his mission. His new secretary, Beatrice Severn—code name “C”—is highly skilled. She wants to track down all Wormold’s agents to speak with them, but he goes to hilarious lengths to keep her away from the people he has made up.

His web of lies becomes more tangled when someone real he has named his fake agent Raul dies in a suspicious car accident. It becomes clear this isn’t just a coincidence when another of his “agents” is shot at in public, and Dr. Hasselbacher’s apartment is violently sacked. Suddenly, all the people Wormold used to create his lies—presumed to be secret agents—are being targeted by an unknown government. Ironically, Wormold is now tasked with the real spy mission to save the lives of innocent people. At the same time, London warns him that someone is planning to poison him at an upcoming business lunch.

Wormold refuses his meal. Throughout the event he remains paranoid, especially as his guest Dr. Hasselbacher repeatedly warns him of the danger to his life. A man sits down across from Wormold, introducing himself as Carter, a vacuum salesman. This triggers Wormold’s suspicion. When Carter offers Wormold a drink, he purposely knocks it over. The waiter’s dog licks it up and dies soon after, confirming that Carter was sent to poison Wormold.

Realizing he’s been caught, Carter kills Dr. Hasselbacher. Feeling defeated, Wormold devises a plan to avenge his friend’s death.

Wormold lures Carter to a brothel with the intention of killing him. After much moral hesitation on Wormold’s part, a duel arises and Wormold ends up shooting Carter dead.

Starting to fall in love with Beatrice, Wormold comes clean to her. She reveals that she feels the same way about him but still insists on reporting his fabrication to M16. Wormold prepares himself for a prison term, but surprisingly enough, M16 invites him to its headquarters to discuss a promotion. They offer him a training position and the Order of the British Empire, which he accepts.

Wormold moves to London with Milly and Beatrice, whom he plans to marry.