Kim, an orphan boy in 1885 India during the British Raj, occasionally works for Mahbub Ali, a roguish horse trader who operates as a secret agent for the British. [Mahbub Ali] soon becomes aware of a Russian-backed plot to invade India from Afghanistan, setting the stage for a quiet war of shadows that threads through the boy’s life.
L a m a is introduced as an elderly Buddhist monk from Tibet, who has wandered far in search of the River of the Arrow, a watersource he believes will cleanse him spiritually. To aid the lama in his pilgrimage, Kim is taken as his chela, or disciple, and together they begin a journey that will pull the boy deeper into a world of espionage and loyalty. The lama’s mission to reach spiritual truth intertwines with the boy’s growing sense of duty, and an unlikely bond blossoms between them as they travel along the vast Grand Trunk Road.
Along their travels, they arrive near a British encampment where the sight of a regimental flag—a red bull on a green field—echoes a prophecy whispered to Kim by his late father. Spurred by curiosity and a sense of risk, Kim sneaks into the camp and is briefly mistaken for a thief. When authorities uncover papers in his possession, it becomes clear that he is not merely a street-smart orphan but the son of Kimball O’Hara, a veteran Irish soldier in the regiment. This revelation shatters his former life and pushes him toward a new education, one that promises to train him for a larger role in the political games surrounding India’s future.
The British authorities see in Kim a potential spy and enroll him in rigorous training, including lessons with the shopkeeper Lurgan Sahib during the early part of the summer. As he hones his skills, a dangerous mission unfolds: Kim overhears a plot to assassinate his benefactor and mentor, and he is compelled to warn Mahbub Ali, preserving the life of the man who has given him purpose. The risk grows when the boy is sent to alert Hurree Chunder, an intelligence-adept observer charged with watching two Russian spies posing as surveyors.
The path grows darker when Kim discovers that Chunder has been murdered. Rather than report back, he decides to press on with the mission himself, keeping the information to himself and moving forward with greater resolve. News of Chunder’s death reaches Colonel Creighton, and the British respond by appointing Mahbub Ali to take Chunder’s place and continue the watch from the inside. In a tense exchange, Kim negotiates with the Russians, effectively convincing them to hire him as their servant—a bold move that pits him directly against his former British handlers.
An emissary from the Russian side arrives to press the matter further, leading to a dangerous confrontation on the edge of a cliff where truth is squeezed from him in brutal fashion. In the ensuing skirmishes, Mahbub Ali steps forward to rescue Kim, handling the intruders with decisive force and turning the tide when a small Russian force closes in. A rockslide is unleashed, burying the Russians and delivering a harsh moral victory for the men who have risked everything for their country and their code of honor.
The Lama, though wounded, experiences a final, intimate vision of his River of the Arrow. He struggles toward it, and in a quiet, contented moment, dies with the river’s promise in sight, having seen his spiritual goal fulfilled even as the world of espionage and loyalty around him continues to churn. The ending leaves Kim at a crossroads: his life has been altered irrevocably by the encounters, loyalties, and dangers of espionage, education, and friendship, and he must decide how to carry forward the lessons he has learned on the long road that runs through India’s past and into its uncertain future.
