The Secret Adversary characters

Also known as Tommy

Appears from the start

A demobilized young Englishman who meets his wartime friend Tuppence in London while both are short of money and prospects. Cautious, loyal, and less impulsive than his partner, he agrees to advertise their services as the Young Adventurers and is soon drawn into the hunt for Jane Finn.

Also known as Tuppence

Appears from the start

Prudence Cowley, a former wartime nurse and Tommy's quick-witted friend. Restless and nearly broke after the war, she proposes that they sell their courage and resourcefulness to anyone offering adventure and good pay. Her improvisation and willingness to take risks propel their new partnership.

First appears in chapter 2

A secretive man who offers Tuppence suspiciously generous work after hearing her use Jane Finn's name. His alarm at that name gives Tommy and Tuppence their first evidence that an apparently casual wartime memory is connected to a larger conspiracy.

First appears in chapter 4

A young American woman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania after being entrusted with politically dangerous papers. She disappeared before officials could recover them, and finding her becomes central to preventing the documents from being used against the British government.

First appears in chapter 4

A senior British intelligence figure who explains the importance of Jane Finn and the missing papers. Convinced that an organizer known only as Mr Brown is coordinating a campaign of political violence, he hires Tommy and Tuppence because their youth and obscurity may let them move unnoticed.

First appears in chapter 5

Jane Finn's wealthy American cousin, who has come to England to find her and offers his money, car, and energy to the search. Direct and impatient, he becomes an active partner to Tommy and Tuppence even as each new lead makes trust more difficult.

Also known as Mrs Vandemeyer

First appears in chapter 7

A fashionable woman connected to Whittington and the organization seeking the missing treaty. Tommy and Tuppence identify her as a promising route into the conspiracy, though her social position and guarded manner make a direct approach dangerous.

First appears in chapter 7

A Russian member of the conspiratorial circle who helps connect its respectable London face to the hidden Soho headquarters. His movements provide Tommy with a trail into the organization.

First appears in chapter 9

A bright young lift attendant at the building where Mrs Vandemeyer lives. Friendly toward Tuppence and pleased to take part in a real adventure, he becomes a useful observer and messenger during her attempt to enter the woman's household.

First appears in chapter 10

A celebrated lawyer whose reputation includes an unusual ability to understand criminals. Julius brings him into the search, and his authority, discretion, and apparent insight make him a powerful ally when Tommy and Tuppence need help beyond their own improvised methods.

First appears in chapter 16

An operative guarding the conspiracy's prisoners. He is watchful and violent, and his presence makes Tommy's effort to conceal his intentions inside the enemy headquarters especially dangerous.

First appears in chapter 17

A frightened young woman held within the same organization that has trapped Tommy. She appears to possess important knowledge but has strong reasons to distrust everyone around her, making any attempt at cooperation uncertain.