High Time to Kill
This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (January 2016) |
OCLC 40681844 | | |
Preceded by | Midsummer Night's Doom | |
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Followed by | The World Is Not Enough |
High Time to Kill, published in 1999, is the fourth novel by
Plot summary
Bond faces off against a ruthless terrorist organisation called "The Union", whose trademark assassination technique is throat-slitting. Bond and his girlfriend Helena are attending a dinner party thrown by a former
A top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed "Skin 17", is stolen by two traitors, scientist Steven Harding and
Bond tracks Harding and Lee to Belgium, but they slip away while Bond fights and kills Harding's bodyguard Basil. MI6 tracks Lee to Nepal. It turns out, however, that Harding plans to double-cross the Union by having the plane carrying Lee hijacked. Le Gerant, the blind leader of The Union, immediately deduces Harding's double-cross and has him executed; Harding's body later washes up on the beach at Gibraltar.
The plane carrying Lee crashes in the Himalayas, so a deadly race between several parties commences to recover Skin 17. Bond, sexy mountaineer Hope Kendall, and Marquis, who was Bond's rival in their schoolboy days, lead one of the expeditions. Early on, they destroy the Chinese base camp, forcing that team to withdraw. Not long after, however, everyone on the British expedition is killed, save for Bond, Hope and Marquis. It turns out that Marquis was in on the theft with Harding, though they don't plan to sell it to The Union. The race climaxes with Bond battling Marquis atop the peak of Kangchenjunga. After a physical high-elevation fight, Bond trades oxygen from a mortally wounded Marquis for Skin 17. Bond and Hope return to base camp to find Paul Baack, a team member believed to have died with the rest, who reveals his affiliation with the Union and demands Skin 17. Bond and Hope manage to kill Baack and Skin 17 is returned to the British.
Meanwhile, Helena reveals herself to be a reluctant agent for The Union, who threatened to harm her family if she did not do their bidding, but she is killed before Bond can reach her.
Locations
Locations where the book takes place include:
- The Bahamas
- London
- Buckinghamshire
- Hampshire
- Belgium
- Delhi, India
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Mt. Kangchenjunga
- Brighton
Publication history
- UK first hardback edition: May 1999 Hodder & Stoughton
- US first hardback edition: June 1999 Putnam
- UK first paperback edition: July 1999 Coronet Books
- US first paperback edition: June 2000 Jove Books