The Tailor of Panama

The Tailor of Panama is a 1996 novel by British writer John le Carré. A 2001 film was released based on the novel. Plot Harry Pendel is a British expatriate living in Panama City and running his own successful bespoke tailoring business, Pendel and Braithwaite. His wife and children are unaware that almost every detail of his life is fabricated, including his former partner, Mr Braithwaite. In reality, Harry Pendel is an ex-convict who learned tailoring in prison. Andy Osnard is a young British MI6 agent sent to Panama to recruit agents to gather intelligence and protect British trade interests through the Panama Canal. However, Andy has his own agenda and, after he discovers Harry's past, sees the perfect opportunity to recruit a new agent and embezzle money from the British government. Concocting a fictitious network of revolutionaries, known as the Silent Opposition, Harry, through Andy, manages to attract the interest of the British secret services and even the US government. However, Harry has used his own friends as the basis for his fantasies, and as the plots are taken more seriously they become known to the Panamanian authorities and Harry struggles to cope with the guilt of setting them up.