Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tarr explains that he did not make an exact copy of the diary. Instead, he copied everything by hand and then returned the diary to its original hiding place. The Russians tore apart his room searching for anything Irina might have given him. Smiley questions Tarr. He knows that Tarr is technically listed as a defector, so he wants an explanation for Tarr’s sudden appearance. Tarr tells Smiley that he has been frantically trying to lose any possible tail, as he worries that the Russians were following him. Smiley continues to question Tarr, but Tarr provides answers to all his questions, though he lies badly in some responses. Smiley is satisfied with Tarr’s answers but notes that the diary seems to have been prepared by a professional. However, if Irina is correct and there is a mole in British intelligence, then Tarr believes that the Circus is in real danger. 

Tarr leaves. Afterward, Lacon and Smiley talk while strolling through Lacon’s garden. Lacon references a discussion between himself and Smiley which took place the previous year, in which Lacon rejected Smiley’s suggestion that there might be a mole in the Circus. He believed this conversation was orchestrated by Control to prevent Alleline from succeeding Control. Lacon will inform the government about Irina and the events surrounding her disappearance. Lacon also mentions Ellis, who Smiley believes was betrayed by someone inside Circus. However, Lacon believes that Ellis was a victim of Control’s faltering competence. Lacon prevented an inquiry into Ellis’s situation; the betrayal and exposure of Ellis directly led to Control’s dismissal, as Control attempted to wage a private war of revenge against the Czechs. According to Lacon, the Circus will now need to tighten its security. Smiley points out that doing so may alert the mole inside the organization. He recommends that someone outside the Circus investigate, so as not to raise Gerald’s suspicions. Lacon dismisses this idea as unacceptable. British intelligence has more than 100 active agents in Soviet territory. Ellis, the codename for Prideaux, was shot in the back during a botched operation in Czechoslovakia. Lacon asks Smiley to handle the investigation into the mole in the Circus. After reflecting on his anger and boredom in retirement, Smiley accepts the role and leaves Lacon’s house. 

Guilliam spent a long time working in intelligence until a failed operation in North Africa resulted in the executions of several of his agents. After this impactful failure, he returned to Britain. He hears rumors about the failed Czechoslovakia operation that left Jim Prideaux with an injured shoulder and resulted in Control being removed from his position. The operation comes to be known as Testify, and it is described as “the most incompetent bloody operation ever launched by an old man for his dying glory” (65). During the period after the failed mission, Smiley told Guilliam that he had been fired from the Circus with no explanation. Only the following day did Guilliam learn that Alleline, with Haydon as his deputy, would replace Control. After Control died, Guilliam was sent to take charge of the scalphunters in Brixton.

Smiley recruits Guilliam to help with his investigation into the mole in Circus. Guilliam is sent to the Circus on Smiley’s instructions, where he takes photographs of important documents which are not allowed to leave the building. Guilliam inquires about the possibility of laundering money for secret operations, develops the photographs of the documents, and tries to adhere to his normal routine without arousing suspicion. While meeting with Lauder Strickland about a money laundering issue, Guilliam runs into Bland, Haydon, and Esterhase. Their behavior seems strange to him. When he is alone, he breaks into a safe and examines the duty log records for the night Tarr sent his message about Irina to the Circus. The records will reveal who knew about Irina’s potential defection, but they have been carefully removed. The entire operation makes Guilliam feel nervous. He is terrified of being caught and does not know who to trust. 

Smiley makes a journey to Oxford. He attended Oxford University, but he does not feel in a sentimental mood. However, he wonders about the time both Haydon and Prideaux spent at the university where they were good friends. Smiley visits the home of Connie Sachs, a woman who was the “queen of research at the Circus” (80) until she was unceremoniously fired. Sachs is delighted to see Smiley and answers his questions about various Russians who worked in London during her tenure at the Circus. One of these Russians is Aleks Polyakov, who is closely associated with the mole. Sachs accurately recounts several Russian agents whom she suspected in the 1960s, many of whom supposedly worked for Karla and attended a secret training camp outside Moscow. 

Smiley listens as Sachs continues to recount her experiences with Soviet spies. She describes Polyakov, who spent seven years operating in London before he came to the attention of the Circus. Sachs believes that Polyakov was a skilled agent, and she remembers many details about his biography, including his education history and physical description. She spent many hours listening to his voice on surveillance tapes, though she never met him face-to-face. When she tried to tell her superiors at Circus about Polyakov, they dismissed her. The memory upsets Sachs, who describes how Alleline and Esterhase refused to accept that Polyakov could be a skilled Russian agent who possibly worked for Karla. Sachs’s instincts told her that Polyakov was almost certainly an ex-military man, though his records suggested otherwise. Even though the Circus eventually dropped their interest in Polyakov, Sachs continued to raise her suspicions. Even when Polyakov was caught wearing his military medals on Remembrance Day, thus revealing his secret military past, the men at Circus dismissed Sachs’s concerns. Alleline told her to put Polyakov “out of your silly woman’s mind” (91).

Smiley asks Sachs about Polyakov’s underlings. She confirms Irina’s story about an undercover agent posing as his driver. Sachs proudly shows Smiley the medals she earned during her service. She mentions that people she knows at the university still ask about former students such as Haydon and Prideaux. As Smiley bids Sachs goodnight, she reflects on the changing nature of the world. Smiley travels back to London, where a trusted police inspector named Mendel drives him to his house. Mendel relays Guilliam’s findings to Smiley and mentions that he has tracked down Prideaux, who is now working as a schoolteacher. Smiley sends Mendel to find out more about Prideaux.

Elsewhere, Guilliam worries that he is being followed. He is anxious about a mission given to him by Smiley. The mission involves stealing the file on the botched operation in Czechoslovakia, which involved Prideaux. 

Bill Roach happily attends a rally race organized by Prideaux, whose old car has been refurbished and entered into the competition. The race involves 14 students taking turns to drive around the makeshift circuit. Roach comes third. As Prideaux watches the race, he notices a man approaching through the school grounds. He asks Roach whether he knows the man. Roach does not, but another student remarks that he saw the mysterious figure talking to the priest at the school chapel. Prideaux remains suspicious. He tells the boys to inform him if they ever see the man again. The following day, Prideaux notices the man talking to the priest. Roach watches Prideaux carefully, observing a dark expression on his teacher’s face.