What is the setting in the novel, Eye of the Needle?

The majority of the action in this novel occurs in the greater London area. Most of the specific places mentioned in the narrative are well-known locations within London. The places Billy Prior and Sarah Lumb visit, for instance, are familiar to those living in the British Isles as well as those living outside the country. Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, the Isle of Dogs and Kew Gardens are popular tourism sites, as is the Whitechapel section of London. Specific neighborhoods or districts within London are mentioned throughout the story as well. Billy Prior lives in Bayswater, for example while Dr. Rivers lives not far from Hampstead Heath.

Other locations in England are also mentioned, such as Salford and Manchester, Birmingham. In addition to locations in and around London, all four countries comprising the British Isles are included in the narrative. For example, Craiglockhart War Hospital is located not far from Edinburgh, Scotland. Similarly, Major Lode, Billy Prior's supervisor at the Ministry of Munitions, eventually relocates to Wales. O'Brien, the workman mentioned in Chapter 2, is from Ireland.

By way of character memories, various locations in France (Amiens and Étaples) and the French Front itself play a prominent role in the narrative.

A small portion of the narrative is devoted to Dr. Rivers' remembrances of Melanesia, a geographical region located in the South Pacific. Lionel Spragge eventually travels to South Africa.