Who is Bill Haydon? Why is he important to this novel? What has Bill Haydon done to initiate the Dolphin case? What is the Dolphin case? Why does the novel begin by questioning the events within the Dolphin case? What has gone wrong? Why has it gone wrong? What does this case have to do with the developing plot?

Who is George Smiley? Why does Smiley have a picture of Karla in his office? Who is Karla? What has Karla done? What does Smiley hope to learn about Karla? Why does Smiley have his staff searching through old files? What does Smiley hope to find? What does Smiley find?

Who is Jerry Westerby? Why is he called the Honourable Schoolboy? Is Westerby really a writer? Why does Westerby struggle so much with his novel? Why is Westerby called to London? What is Westerby's connection...