A Brief History of Seven Killings

The Diflorios are moving to Argentina, which Claire is happy about. Barry prepares to evacuate, though he sees Jamaica as a better assignment than conducting operations in countries like Iran and Yugoslavia. He feels the CIA has overestimated their ability to carry out so many simultaneous operations at once.

Nearly three years earlier, Louis Johnson was reassigned to Central America. He has kept in touch with Barry to have someone to talk to in English. Barry knows that their new location will not be as peaceful as Claire expects it to be, thanks to widespread cultural repression and public violence in Argentina.

Two days earlier, William Adler called Barry to chat. Barry revealed that Adler was unwittingly in contact with a KGB agent while hiding in the United Kingdom. When Adler denied the connection, Barry taunted his stupidity. This prompted Adler to offer some information about a massive leak in classified information—a file called the Horrors book, with an extensive record of the CIA’s illegal activities that could destroy the CIA’s reputation. Barry has little reaction, claiming that he wrote the Horrors book. Adler hung up and never called Barry again.

Following his release from prison, Papa-Lo understands that the ruling classes are using the gang war to perpetuate their power. Prompted by a military ambush on a JLP-aligned group called the Wang Gang at Green Bay, Papa-Lo and Shotta Sherrif enter peace talks. To prove his willingness to cooperate with Shotta Sherrif, Papa-Lo kills one of his own men, Treetop, who attacked an Eight Lanes gang member without authorization. The two gangs enact the peace treaty in early 1978. They both convince the Singer that it is safe to return to Jamaica for another peace concert.

Papa-Lo and Tony Pavarotti drive to the ruins of a seaside fortress. In the trunk of their car are two prisoners, both participants in the horse race scheme. Papa-Lo executes the prisoners on the beach.

Two days earlier, Papa-Lo ordered the capture of Leggo Beast, who was part of the Singer’s ambush squad. Papa-Lo tortured Leggo Beast’s mother to punish him, after which Leggo Beast admitted that Josey, backed by the CIA and Doctor Love, recruited him to kill the Singer. Papa-Lo was confused by the CIA’s motivations for killing the Singer. Josey claimed that he couldn’t possibly have been involved in the attempted assassination—if he had been there, he would have succeeded in killing the Singer.

From the beach fort ruins, Papa-Lo and Tony go to meet the Singer and his manager, as well as a jury of Papa-Lo’s allies. They put three more prisoners, including Leggo Beast, on trial. The Singer’s manager identifies the prisoners but notes that someone crucial is missing from the group. The manager testifies that two of their assailants were present at the peace concert, including one who had access to the stage. The prisoners insist that Josey and the CIA organized the plan.

One of the jury members, a woman who was present at the ambush, testifies to seeing Josey rebuke one of the prisoners, Heckle, after their escape from the Singer’s house. Another jury member, a messenger named Priest, assures the manager that the man who shot them (Josey) is dead. Though the manager insists that this is untrue, the Singer placates the manager. It becomes clear to Papa-Lo that both he and the Singer know that Josey was the shooter.

Leggo Beast claims to have never shot the Singer because he shot the wife. The court find the three prisoners guilty. Papa-Lo sentences them to death. The Singer and his manager leave as Papa-Lo executes Leggo Beast. Papa-Lo has a vision of a white man (the ghost of Jennings) witnessing the proceedings. The other two prisoners die by hanging.

Driving away from the trial, Papa-Lo and two gang members named Lloyd and Trevor are stopped by a police barricade. The police claim to be conducting a spot check but are suspiciously heavily armed. Locating a revolver underneath the passenger seat, the police immediately shoot Papa-Lo in the head; they plan to say that they killed him in self-defense. Papa-Lo, Trevor, and Lloyd are shot several times. After the police leave, Papa-Lo’s soul rises out of his body and glimpses past and future events, including the Singer’s death.

Alex Pierce becomes obsessed with the Singer’s ambush. He stays in Jamaica for eight months to write a book and meets Priest, who tries to arm Alex for his own safety. Alex interviews Shotta Sherrif. He observes that the Eight Lanes looks poorly sustained compared to Copenhagen City, despite the fact that the PNP still hold the majority in the government. Alex learns from Shotta how the peace process began. At the end of the interview, Shotta expresses his fervent hope for the peace treaty’s success.

Alex also learns about the Green Bay ambush and notes the discrepancies in the stories he collects from Wang Gang and military witnesses, suggesting that the ambush was a trap. While interviewing Papa-Lo, Alex also learns that a top Copenhagen City enforcer named Copper was killed by the police, which disillusioned Papa-Lo about the peace treaty. It is implied that someone tipped the police off to Copper’s whereabouts.

Josey’s men kidnap Alex; Josey tries to intimidate Alex and undermine the peace efforts. Alex is unfazed, observing Josey’s lack of faith in a lasting peace. Josey describes several precise details about the Singer’s ambush and wonders whether the Singer understood the symbolic meaning of getting shot near the heart. Alex observes that these details are known to only a few people, including the Singer, his manager, and the surgeon.

One night, Alex wakes up in his Kingston hotel room when he senses that a stranger is sitting on his bed. Alex tries to figure out how to get the man out of his room without getting himself killed. The man takes out a gun and is about to kill Alex when the phone rings, startling the assassin. In the ensuing struggle, Alex kills the assassin with a letter opener.

In the wake of the failed ambush, Josey and Tony attempt to finish off the Singer before he leaves Jamaica. At the last second, Josey decides that he doesn’t want to have to keep proving himself, so he spares the Singer.

Two years later, Nasser is displeased by the peace treaty and the Singer’s return to Jamaica. Josey feeds him information that the Singer is starting a Rasta political party to unite the two gangs. They intend to divide downtown Kingston and outgrow the need for the current political system. This turns Nasser furious because of the upcoming election in a year’s time.

Johnson is replaced by a new field agent named Clark. Josey indulges Clark’s condescension by acting stupid, so that he can convince the CIA that he is under their control. Clark provides Josey with more guns.

Papa-Lo pleads with Josey to cooperate with the peace treaty. Josey realizes that Papa-Lo is driven by the hope that he can rewrite his legacy to say he united the ghetto. Josey fundamentally disagrees with the idea that peace can be achieved in the ghetto because the gangs will always be fighting over limited resources. He knows that the ruling political parties also don’t want peace because peace will mean that the ghetto will start to rise out of poverty. Josey sees that Papa-Lo, Clark, and Nasser all want to use him to fulfill their respective agendas, but Josey is tired of being used.

Papa-Lo and Josey spot a photo of Heckle and the Singer in the newspaper. At some point, Heckle reconciled with the Singer and escaped with him to the United Kingdom. Papa-Lo is confounded by the Singer’s mercy. Josey gives up Leggo Beast to Papa-Lo, though Leggo Beast implicates Josey and the CIA in the ambush. It is also implied that Josey sent Copper to his death at the hands of the police.

Josey chats to his children while waiting for three phone calls in the night. In the first call, someone tells him that something is “finished” at the causeway. Josey stresses that the newspaper account should include that there were 56 bullets fired, matching the number of bullets fired at the Singer’s house. In the second call, Josey learns that peace council leader Tristan Phillips has disappeared, as Josey ordered. The third call is supposed to be from Tony Pavarotti, who is never late. However, instead, the Weeper calls from Miami. Josey sent him there to develop their link to the Medellín cartel. Josey asks to discuss their operation later, revealing that their activities in Miami are a stepping stone for larger operations in New York.

The Singer develops cancer from a toe injury. He nevertheless carries on with his career and refuses to amputate the toe because of his Rasta beliefs. Cosmetic surgery does little to relieve his foot pain. Eventually, the Singer collapses after losing control of his legs. He undergoes radium treatment, but this does not help. The Singer is baptized as a Christian. He is put on life support in Miami, where he dies.

The ghost of Jennings describes the violence that happens while the Singer is still alive. Copper is killed by a gunman. Papa-Lo is killed in a police ambush on the causeway by a hail of 56 bullets. Nasser pays the Wang Gang to attack two members of the Eight Lanes. Copenhagen City gunmen kill a PNP parliamentarian. The violence prompts Nasser to pressure the government into calling for an election. In 1980, the JLP wins the general election.