Section 14 Summary

"The Magic Mountains"

The title of this section refers to both the mountains Mireille traversed in the past narrative and those through which Catherine and Kamel travel in the present. The quote is from the writings of Napoleon and contains a commentary on the complex relationship between past and present.

June 1973. As Kamel drives her into the mountains where she plans to visit Llewellyn's dealer friend and begin negotiations for the piece of the Service, Catherine describes how the last few weeks have been filled with her OPEC-related work for Kamel, and also how she's heard nothing from her friends and allies - Solarin, Lily, or Nim. As they drive, Catherine tells Kamel who she's looking for - a man named El-Marad, who lives in what turns out to be Kamel's home village. Kamel tells her El-Marad is ruthless and tricky, and that...