The Enemy by Desmond Bagley 1. An interesting woman Malcolm met Penelope Ashton at a diner-party and asked her out. They started seeing each other several times in next six weeks. Then, Penelope invited him to her home town Marlow, on the River Thames. The Ashton’s’ family had a big house with swimming pool, tennis court and well-kept garden. There he had met George Ashton, Penelope’s father and Gillian, Penelope’s’ sister. They spent lovely time together, and George invited Malcolm to come over next week, which he happily accepted. He also met Ashton’s’ personal servant, Benson, who wasn’t so kind and polite like the Ashton’s. 2. Acid in the eyes Penelope was too tired to go on weekend with Malcolm and her family. Malcolm had great time with them, but sth interrupted that beautiful day. Someone has thrown acid in Gillian eyes, so they had to call the ambulance to take her to the hospital. Malcolm also called the police because he realized that this wasn’t an accident. An hour later Detective Inspector Honnister came and Malcolm showed him hid ID card. When Penny and Ashton came home, Ashton said Malcolm he wants to talk to him, but not right now. Malcolm talked with Penny, he wanted to ask her to marry him, but this situation didn’t let him to. After a while, Benson said Malcolm that Ashton wants to see him at his study. They talked about Malcolm getting married to Penny and that they could go to Australia in two weeks. For Malcolm, this was too fast. He didn’t know if Penny would say yes, but Ashton was convinced she would, and he was very nervous. 3. The mysterious George Ashton Malcolm was searching sth about George Ashton on the Nelly, the computer in his office. He was confused because when he typed his name, he computer said to try on next level, and he tried that to, but the answer was the same n every level. The day after, he received a phone call from his boss, Ogilvie. He asked him why was he searching information about Ashton on the computer and invited him to come. With them there was an unknown man. They asked him to be their inside man in Ashtons house, and he refused to. 4. Family problems In this chapter Malcolm and Inspector Honnister found out sth more about the attacker- that was a man in mid forties, pale and Gillian has never seen him before. That day, she was coming from church when she saw a man banded above the car, looking to the engine. She thought the car had broken so she stopped to help him, but he turned to her and throw acid on her face. When Penny told this to the Inspector, Malcolm and she went to her home. Malcolm asked her to marry him, and she kind of said yes, but she said that she can’t marry him until the
situation with Gillian is still hot. They both agreed to say her father about that, although he implicated that. 5. Ashton disappears Malcolm requested a team of people end equipment for guarding he Ashtons’. He found out from Larry that short important man is Lord Cregar. Malcolm, Larry and their team went to the hospital to meet Honnister, who found out the kind of car that attacker was driving. One of the people from the team, Jack, said that Penny came to visit Gillian and that they cannot found Ashton and Benson. Malcolm went to the Ashtons’ place and found only one servant, Marry, who said him that Ashton and Benson weren’t in the house since yesterday. After that, Malcolm phoned Penny to come back home and went to Ashtons’ study. There he found two envelopes, one for Penny and the other for him. He opened his envelope and the letter both shocked and confused him. 6. A bad son-in-law? Malcolm called Ogilvie and said that Ashton and Benson disappeared and that Ashton left him a letter and he read it to Ogilvie, and he couldn’t understand it either. Then Penny arrived, asking why she is been followed. Malcolm told her who he is and what he is and he told her all about his work and that he didn’t know anything when he first met her. He also told her that he still doesn’t know everything about her father. Then he gave her the envelope and she read it. Her father asked not to search for him and that he’s safe with Benson. Malcolm and his team had to search the house because they dad to find sth that can lead them to Ashton, because Malcolm had to protect him. They didn’t find anything that can help them accept the secret safe room and very complicated and big railway. 7. Ashton and the Russian scientist Malcolm went to see his boss. He finally got access to the level Black on the computer and he found out some interesting things about Ashton. In fact, Ashton isn’t really “George Ashton”. His real name is Alexander Chelyuskin, the Russian physicist, who escaped from Russia at the end of the World War Two, 1945. the person who helped him escape was Lord Cregar, but he wasn’t a Lord back then. He was Pallton. When Chelyuskin came to England, he wanted to have a normal life, but Cregar was always after him because he thought he would make sth scientific, but he didn’t. He started a business with a friend and made himself rich. He married his friends’ daughter, Marry. After Penny and Gillian were born, their mother died in a car accident. After learning all of this, Malcolm got a headache. Ogilvie sent him to open the secret safe room. Cregar also wanted to see wants in it, but Malcolm didn’t let him. Cregar angrily gone out, and Malcolm opened the secret safe room but it was empty.
8. The man who threw the acid The police from London found out who is the man who threw acid in Gillians face. Malcolm went to London and went with Inspector Crammond to visit a man called Mayberry. That man rent a car and drove himself to the Slough. They investigate him, found out he s very religious man, that he goes to church twice a week and that he s against the science, especially against the work of Penelope Ashton and her boss, professor Lumsden. He thought he threw acid on her, but when he found out that he attacked the wrong person, he fall unconscious. Malcolm and the inspector agreed that this accident has nothing to do with George Ashtohs work. 9. Lord Cregar again Police and malcoms’ department investigated Mayberry and realized that he is really mad. Malcolm went to see Penny at the University. She wad very cold, and when she found out that the acid was for her, she began crying. After that, weeks and months went by and no one has heard anything about George Ashton. Relationship between Malcolm and Penny improved, but they didn’t want to marry yet. Gillian was recovered a little, and she wanted to go to the U.S. to get a full recovery of Gillians’ face. One day, over dinner, Penny said Malcolm that Cregar visited Professor Lumsden, on the day when Malcolm opened the secret safe room. This caught Malcolms’ interest. 10. Tragedy in Sweden Ogilvie showed Malcolm some photographs, of a man called Fyodr Koslov, and another man, and Malcolm identify them as Ashton and Benson. Then Ogilvie told Malcolm to go to Sweden to track those two. Although Malcolm hated that idea, he couldn’t do anything but that. Malcolm and his team followed them, and after a period of time they realized that there are other searchers, Russian searchers, also tracking down Ashton and Benson. Malcolm wanted to say everything to Ashton and he was sure that he would convince him to come back to England, but Ogilvie didn’t let him do that because he thought that Ashton would immediately go to Russia, if he found out that the government of England was watching him after thirty years. Ogilvie thought that it would be great if they turn him against Russia. So Larry, who has known Russian very well, started talking in Russian at the bookshop, and Ashton went out very nervous. Larry did that several times and that made Ashton and Benson run again. They managed to track them at one village, and Malcolm heard a gun shoot. He ran to save Ashton but it was too late, and Ashton died on his hands, trying to say sth. He found out that Benson shoot Ashton and that Henty shoot Benson. Couple of minutes later, the army of Sweden found and arrests them. They were kept in prison for three weeks. When he got home, Malcolm read in the newspapers what happened to Ashton and Benson.
11. More mysteries and new dangers Ogilvie and the department investigated Bensons past, but they couldn’t fih=nd anything suspicious. Ogilvie decided to put Malcolm in charge to investigate all of this. Malcolm also had to go to the convention, and Cregar made fun of him for failing in Sweden. Everyone at the office thought that Malcolm is now a messenger, although there weren’t any messages. He went to Marlow and visited Penny and her sister. He was pleased to know that Michaelis, which he ran on the stairs in Ashton's house, said Penny that Malcolm was at the U.S. when her father died. 12. The secret computer Malcolm was trying to find out sth about Benson, because he couldn’t understand why he shot Ashton. He was looking at the army and he found out that Benson is the stolen identity, but he still couldn’t get it. When penny and Gillian went to the U.S., their house has been put on auction. Malcolm came on one of the auction days and, with michaeliss help, he figured out what the railway really was. It was a secret computer, and he had to raise a loan in bank to save it. 13. Ashton’s work and Benson’s secret Malcolm and penny met when she came back from the u.s. From her he found out sth that cleared his mind- Ashton knew all about genetics, and he learned it from penny. When penny went to Scotland, Malcolm received the suitcase he had left in Sweden and the suitcases of Ashton and Benson. From Benson’s wallet Malcolm found out that he was Lord Cregars spy for over thirty years. That explained why he didn’t find anything on Benson from the computer, because someone have erased all information. Penny disappeared in Scotland and Malcolm thought Cregar has sth to do with it. 14. Trouble in Scotland Malcolm went to the island, Robbie and archie helped him. Lord Cregar wasn’t pleased to see him there. The only thing that saved Malcolm from death was a letter which he found in Bensons wallet. Cregar showed him a room with doctor ahston, and she was unconscious because it happened an accident with some dangerous bacteria. Malcolm wanted to rescue her and Cregar promised that she will be saved if he keeps his mouth shout. They fought and Malcolm accidentally crashed the containers with bacteria. While that was happening, local fisherman came to help Malcolm. 15. Biological disaster Cregar confessed everything to Malcolm in laboratory while they were waiting for help. All that Malcolm thought before was truth. (Benson killed Ashton because of the order thirty years old – stopping Ashton to go back to Russia).
16. My new job After some time they spent in hospital, with a team of thirty doctors from America and Europe, penny and Malcolm were no longer in danger. Ogilvie came to visit Malcolm and he said that Ashton was a genius and that he has done for genetics what Einstein did for physics and he offered him a promotion. Malcolm refused it because he didn’t want to become like him. Peter asked Gillian to marry him. 17. The future They were fully recovered; Gillian came back from America looking better then before the accident. The four of them were planning their double wedding, but sth bad happened. Doctor starkie, the doctor who helped Malcolm, said that he has a cancer and six months, maybe a year of life left. Malcolm said that to penny and they wet to Ireland and lived together for nine months, when he started writing this story. “The enemy is us.” Characters 1. Malcolm- is a spy catcher and a servant of the politicians. He’s hard and tough and intelligent. He wants to marry Penny. He is willing to take risk for persons he loves. 2. Penelope-is a scientist, and the daughter of the scientist George Ashton. She was not a beautiful woman but she was well-dressed, quite pretty and very intelligent. She was a good listener but didn’t say much about herself. 3. George Ashton- Penelope’s father. He was in mid fifteens. He was fall, grey-haired, and very filly, full of energy, independent businessman. 4. Gillian Ashton- Penelope’s sister. She wasn’t at all like Penny. She was the kind of woman who likes to stay home and run the house. Gillian told the servants what to do, she planned the meals, and seemed to be very happy. 5. Benson- Ashton’s personal servant. He spoke with a gentle, educated accent but his face looked as if he had had far too many fights when he was a young man. 6. Lord Cregar- A short, fat man who was very greedy, tricky, selfish. He didn’t care about anyone if he was in danger. 7. Mayberry- mad man who threw an acid in Gillian’s eyes. He was very religious and quiet man. He had pale unhealthy skin. He is in his forties. He went to the church twice a week. He thought that biologists are breaking the laws of God. 8. Ogilvie- he was a Malcolm’s boss. He believed Malcolm and gave him big support. By the end we saw that he is just like the other people with power.
O piscu:
Desmond was born Born in England on the 29th October 1923 at Kendal in Cumbria Celebrated for his fast-paced stories and attention to detail, thriller writer Desmond Bagley was born in the Lake District and spent his early working life in the aircraft industry, before his adventurous spirit took him on an exciting road trip to South Africa, where he settled as a freelance journalist and film critic. His first novel, The Golden Keel was an instant success, and he went on to write a further fifteen gripping stories, which have been translated into more than 20 languages. -This is a very interesting thriller novel. The Enemy's focus on genetics and the dangers of mutating the human genome. That may not seem so unusual in today's world, but Bagley wrote this plot 23 years ago in 1977. Readers even get a peak at a highly unorthodox computer - a good four years before the PC was even introduced
