LIES OF SILENCE - SUMMARY

LIES OF SILENCE - SUMMARY ONE In the first chapter you get to know all important people of Lies of Silence. At the beginning the main character Michael Dillon is introdced to the reader. At this moment he is working at the hotel he is manager of. It`s evening, shortly before he stops working. Mainly he is planning the next day where would be a lot of work in the hotel because of a Speech of Reverant Pottinger and the graduation week at the university. When he is ready he phones Andrea, another important person of the story (later you get to know that Michael is having an affair with her). He leaves the hotel and drives to Andrea to take her for a walk. On his way he things about her and how he got to know her one year before. They get to the Lagan River towpath. Andrea tells Michael that she could have a got job in London and her doubts to go there because she would have to leave him. After a talk Michael promissed her, that he will tell Moira (his wife) about their affair, then ask his boss for a job in a hotel and London and go with her. Michael takes Andrea home and they date for the next day at the hotel. After this Dillon drives home. He thinks about the problems in Northern Ireland, the party he has met Moira first and the reasons why he has married her although they are very different. He arrives at home and searches for his cat Teddy which normally comes to him after he has parked the car in the entry way. As he doesn`t find Teddy he goes in and sees Moira and Peggy, a friend of her who doesn`t like Michael, in the sitting-room. Peg just wants to leave and Moira asks him to drive her home. On the way Peg tells him that she wants to open a second shop and wants Moira to work for her. Normally Michael wouldn`t de happy to see Moira working in shop because she has a much better education but in case of his plan to leave her he says that she has to decide it herself. When he comes back home he finds the dead body of his cat and wondered how this could has happened. He went in and noticed his wife phoning with Peg but she doesn`t tell him the real reason what they were talking about. Now the reader learns that Moira has bulimia and how Michael has got to knaw about. Moira goes to bed and Michael in his study to search for some papers he has to take when he leaves. He observes a car and the two people in at down at the street (later he knows that they belong to the IRA). When he goes to bed Moira starts a quarrel because of the shop. She thinks that she doesn`t need his permission and that he doesn`t love her anymore. Michael just wants to sleep and says they would talk about everything next morning. In the end of the first chapter Moira begs that he shouldn`t ever leave her. TWO The second chapter in Lies of Silence plays at night in Dillons house. After the quarrel with Moira and after she asks him not to leave her Michael can`t sleep. Then he hears a car outside, gets up and looks out of the window. In the street he notices the white Ford from before and someone triing to come in his house. He wants to phone the police, but the masked men of the IRA are faster. They told him to go upstairs to wake up his wife and put on some clothes.michael and Moira have to go downstairs and sit down on the sofa. There are many young men in and around their house and they tells the Dillons that they would be there until the morning and that they should do what they are want to. Sitting on the sofa Moira gets in conflict with one of the man because she behaves very cheeky and doesn`t seem to be afraid of them. Moira wants to know very, too. Because of all this there is a lot of trouble. The

men of the IRA wants to get Dillons car keys and Michael gives them to one of the boys. He thinks that they might use it to kill someone or to put a bomb in it and let it blow up somewhere. After Dillon gives the car keys Moira says that she must go to toilet. So one of the boys (the one she has had a conflict with before) went up with her to the bathroom. Moira keeps inside for a long time and the boy gets nervous. Michael and his capter hear him knocking at the door, shouting something and they gets up to look after. The fat captor makes a great mistake because he calles the other one with his name Kev. They open the bathroom door and see that Moira has tried to leave the house throw the window. As Kev followed her she screamed in hope that a neighbour would hear her but Kev put his hand at her mouth. No one has heared her. Another mistake of the IRA men happens a bit later back in the sitting room. Kev put his mask away to scratch his face. Because he puts his back to Dillon he thinks that no one could see him but Michael sees his face in a mirror. Later that night the captors gets a warning for police coming round over their radio. They switches the light of and tells them to be very quiet now. The policeman comes around looks at the house and goes on again. They doesn`t notice what happens inside. Dillon worries about his hotel because he thinks that it might be possuble that the IRA is going to attact it and he wonders if they would give a warning or if they would kill many innocent people. THREE The third chapter deals with the next morning. The IRA men wants Michael to leave the sitting-room while Moira should stay there. One of the IRA man tells Michael that he has to put on normal clothes as if going to work and then should drive to the hotel as every morning. He must park his car in the normal space and leave the hotel again to go into a shop. There he should buy some cigarettes or something else and after this a green taxi would take him. Dillon asks the boy who tells him what to do if there is bomb in his car and if they will give a warning before it blows up but his captor doesn`t give a clear answer to this. Moira is very anxious of being alone and not knowing what they will do to her husband although Michael promissed her that nothing will happen to him. So Dillon goes of and drives his normal day to the hotel followed by the white Ford for the of the way. He thinks about why they want to blow up the hotel and if they would give a warning before. He arrives at the hotel and does like he was told. In the car park he sees Pottinger and suddenly he knows that he is the one the IRA is going to kill and that they won`t give a warning. Michael sees the many innocent people who are promissed to die. As he went to the shop like he should he gets very nervous and calls the police then goes back to the hotel and gives bomb alarm. All people gets out of the building, the polices arrives and the bomb exploses very soon. Suddenly Michael remembered Moira in their house perhaps killed by their captors. He borrowed a car of Maggie Dollon (the girl at reception) and drives quikly to his house. There he finds his shooked wife and Inspector Randall, who wanted to know what has happened after Michael has left the house in the morning. Michael tells the whole story and that he has seen the face of one of the IRA boys. The Inspector advises them not to tell anybody about their role in this story, then he drives Moira to her parents and Dillon goes back to the hotel after promissing he would come to Moiras parents later on.

FOUR Michael is back at the hotel and arranges everthing important. He looks at the damage, phones a constructur because of the rebuilding of the hotel, gives advices to run the business as far as possible, calls Andrea to meet her in the afternoon, phones his boss Keogh in London to tell him and who sends Mr Harrison to look around. Dwayne Harrison arrives in the afternoon to look at the damages and Michael asks him for a transfer to London very fast. He is not happy about this but he wants to talk with Keoghs about it. Then Andrea comes to the hotel and Michael tells about the last night and that- of course- he doesn`t tells Moira about her yet. After Andrea has left a man comes around- sended by Dr Pottinger- to thank him for saving his life. At least he phones with Andrea again to date in the hotel at ten o`clock. FIVE Michael now drives to Lurgan where Moiras parents are living. On his way he crosses the notorious prison and thinks about the boys of the last night. He arrives at the house and goes in. He tells Moira thet he has asked for an transfer to London and she is almost angry because he should has spoke to her first. Meaves (mother) cooks supper and they all sits down in the kitchen. The father starts to talk about the IRA and the happenings of the night. Moira decides also because of her fathers speech in wich he says that they are the only people who could to stop them that she wants to stay in Northern Ireland. She is loving this country in contrast to Michael. Her opinion that they must do something against them, not just leave the country and let them win again. Her parents and Michael try to stop her because they think that she just risk her life without wining something. Then Moira goes out for a walk with the dog and keeps very long so that Dillon leaves the house without seeing Moira again. SIX Michael drives back to the hotel where wants to meet Andrea. He asks if there is any room free over night and orders the Jacuzzi suite. The pair goes upstairs and Dillon tells her that he has asked for a job in London but that he still doesn`t know and about Moiras plans to tell the whole world what has happened last night. Next morning they have breakfast at the hotel. Even when he put his hand on hers Moira comes in and wants to speak to him, just to tell that she really stays in Belfast. Then his boss phones in to say that he moght work in a London hotel where he has worked time ago as assistant manager. Then he goes back in the dinning room and tells Andrea the news about his transfer, but she doesn`t semmed to be as happy as Dillon is at this moment. SEVEN In the beginning of this chapter Michael Dillon drives to his house to take his things for going to London. He takes clothes and the documents which he has set aside before. When he looks out of the window he sees a white car and gets nervous because of thinking to be followed, but it is just any car driving down the street. Then he leaves the house and drives to Peg`s shop where he hopes to meet Moira. But when he arrives Peg says that she has just been on television to tell what has happened the last night. Futher more she says that she wouldn`t have her to work in the shop because it`s too dangerous with the IRA. When he gets back to the hotel he is told that there are many reporters who wants to interview him but he doesn`t

want to say anything. Michael gets to know that Moira is at the BBC right know. He drives there to tell her that his transfer has come throw and that he will go to London soon. Michael is asked if he will join the interview with his wife but he doesn`t. As he arrives back at the hotel his father is there. They sit down in the bar and Michael tells about the bomb and that he is going to London, but he doesn`t menzion his quarrel with Moira and his affair with Andrea. One of the reporters from before comes back and asks if it`s right that he has seen the face of one of the IRA men like Moira tells him. Michael gets anxious and of course denies it. Shortly after this he gets a call where someone warns him that he is talking a bit to much about what has happened. Again Michael goes to Moira this time the Bon-Bon to tell her about the phonecall and ask why she has told the reporter that he have seen Kev`s face. Again they start to quarrel until Moira leaves the place. EIGHT In the hotel Michael gets a visit of Inspector Randall and Chief Inspector Norton, to ask if he is still willing to testify the IRA boy because they have a notion who it might be. Dillon wants to and says where they can call him in London the next time. When Michael sits in the hotel bar he sees Moira on the TV news, calmed that she doesn`t say something about seeing Kev`s face. Then he goes to Andrea and stays there over night. As he arives in the hotel Moira phones him and says that she has already called a solicitor about a divorce. In the afternoon of this day the hotel staff organised a party for Dillon because of his transfer to London. Michael is very happy to see that they all like him very much and gets a bit sad to leave this behind him. NINE Later he is at Andreas flat where he gets a call from Father Matt Conolly who says that he has been in school with Michael but he doesn`t remember him. He wants to see Dillon very soon and says that it`s almost urgent so Michael allowed him to come around. As the priest arrives Dillon still doesn`t know him. Conolly tells him of a nice young lady who is having a son which might be Kev but the priest thinks that this nineteen year old boy isn`t a criminal. So he tries to hold him off testifiing this boy, but Michael who gets angry of Connoly says that he would idendify him of course. Andrea and Dillon drives to the airprt to go of to London. There Michael phones his mother to tell her that ha will leave now, that Moira will stay in Northern Ireland and he tells her having a girlfriend who goes there with him. His mother is not surprised about all this, because she thought that he hasn`t been happy with Moira. Then Michael and Andrea flew to London. There they gets to a house of Andreas friends where they could live the next six weeks. They have a nice weekend togetheter which Dillon never wants to end. TEN On mnday they both have to go to their new work in London. Dillons boss makes him big hopes that he perhaps will go to another hotel as manager wich is Keoghs just buying because of his great success in Belfast. Michael- very happy about this newsphones Andrea to tell her and date later on. When they meet Dillon gets a message that Inspector Randall has called so he phoned back. The Inspector says that they want him to come to Belfast for testifiing a boy. Michael promissed to call again when he has spoken to his boss for getting free. Andrea tries to explain him that he shouldn`t do it because it is to riskfull. At least Michael sees that she is right and

says that he will tell it the Inspector in the next morning. But early in the next morning Moira phonened and tells that the priest had also been at her to ask for not testifiing Kev and Moira has the same opinion as Andrea. So Dillon phones Randall to tell his decision but the Inspector is not reachable. Andrea gets very anxiously of all this, because she supposes that the priest is having conections to the IRA and that they know he will testify. Michael tries to reach Randall several times but he was out. Then Father Conolly visites him at the hotel and asks him again if he would testify while they join a walk. He also says that the IRA will know his decision. Although Dillon promissed Andrea that he wouldn`t go to London he says to Conolly that he would because just when he speaks to him thinks that he must do it like he has phoned the police to give bomb alarm. He leaves the Father willing to testify. When he comes back to the hotel Andrea is very afraid. He tells her and she gets more nervous and anxious. Again she persuades him not to do it. While he was away the Inspector has called and he would try it at home after five o`clock. Because the Randall is still out Michael has no phonenumber. He gets home very fast to get the call. He sents Andrea to buy things for supper because he wants to speak alone with him. He openend the front door and hears the phone ringing but as arrived it was over. A man came in saying that he is the Gas man but he wasn`t. When he was sure that it is Michael Dillon he calls two other men who shot Dillon down.