The Sisters Brothers Summary
Patrick deWitt

The Sisters Brothers Overview

In 1851, Eli and Charlie Sisters - known as the notorious "Sisters Brothers" - are employed as hit men by a shadowy magnate known only as The Commodore. Their latest target is Hermann Kermit Warm, who they must travel on horseback to find at his gold-mining claim outside Sacramento. Though the brothers are renowned for their efficient killings, the job does not go according to plan. In the wild days of the California Gold Rush, the brothers come across prospectors drawn to the wilds by the lure of riches and driven mad by the hard work and solitude; opportunists, thieves, and men made wealthy by one lucky strike, each desperate in their own ways. As the brothers close in on their target, Eli, the conflicted and complex narrator, finds himself questioning the very nature of his relationship with his brother and whether he could make a go at a completely different kind of life. When they finally catch up with the enigmatic and intriguing Warm, the Sisters brothers' path and relationship is altered in ways that had not seemed possible at the start of their journey.