Basil Pascali

Basil Pascali is a paid informant of the Ottoman Empire, and has been living on a small Greek island for twenty years, reporting to the Sultan in Constantinople the activities of the residents. Impoverished, Pascali spends much of his time searching for a free meal. A shorter man of heavy weight, Pascali wears spectacles that are far out of date, and often wears the same clothing repeatedly, as his clothing selection is limited. Pascali is, by necessity, a lonely man, without wife or children or friends. As of late, his reports to the Sultan have become increasingly fantastical as Pascali feels increasing contempt for the administrators of the Empire, and their corruption. Alone and paranoid, Pascali begins to believe the islanders know of his spying activities, and believe they plan to murder him.

When an Englishman, Anthony Bowles, arrives on the island, Pascali is intrigued, particularly after...