Nathaniel buys a home in The Saints where his mother grew up and where he briefly lived with her after his return from America. In 1959 Nathaniel, now an adult, is recruited by the Foreign Office to help in a mass censorship of post- WWII espionage activities, the censorship being known as The Silent Correction. Shortly thereafter, Nathaniel and Rachel are separated and re-homed, with Rachel going to boarding school in the country, and Nathaniel briefly attending a boarding school in America. He is also able to see his mother, briefly, who implies that giving up the children was part of a deal she made to ensure their safety. When Nathaniel awakens, he and Rachel have already been rescued. One night while out with Rachel and The Moth, all three are attacked by men who have been following Nathaniel for some time. The Darter similarly helps Rachel, who develops epilepsy during this time period, by teaching Nathaniel how to deal with the symptoms, and helping Rachel find employment in a theatre.Īfter the year has elapsed and his parents have still not returned, Nathaniel begins to suspect he is being followed, and also that his mother is still somewhere in England, possibly also in London. When Agnes thinks that Nathaniel does not want to introduce her to his parents because he is ashamed of her, Nathaniel has The Darter pretend to be his father.

The Darter helps Nathaniel gain employment, first at a restaurant where he meets a working-class girl, Agnes Street, who he develops a relationship with, and later employing him to aid in smuggling. One of these is The Moth's friend, The Darter, who imports greyhounds into England for the purpose of illegal gambling and ferries explosives by barge from Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills into central London. Nathaniel and Rachel are supposed to be boarders at their school when their parents leave, but after complaining to The Moth they are allowed to live at their home which is now populated by an odd mix of characters. Nathaniel's mother claims to know The Moth because they were both in charge of fire watching at the Grosvenor House Hotel during the war but their stories about the war imply that they had other, secretive war jobs.

The children both have the impression that The Moth is a thief.

The parents decide to leave their children, 14-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister Rachel, in the care of their lodger, Walter, known as The Moth. In 1945 at the end of the war, Nathaniel's father and mother decide to leave London for a year to go to Singapore, where Nathaniel's father is being stationed.

Warlight by michael ondaatje