The Passengers

The Passengers (2019) is a science fiction thriller by British author John Marrs. In a near-future UK, autonomous vehicles are mandatory; cars lack manual controls, and AI systems make life-or-death decisions in accidents. When a mysterious figure hijacks eight cars, the occupants and a formerly secret government jury are drawn into a deadly televised game in which the public votes on who survives. The novel incorporates news reports and social media feeds, framing the crisis as a global media event, and explores several themes: The Illusion of Control in a Technologically Saturated World, How the Digital World’s Hypervisibility Drives Public Performance, and The Corruption of Justice When Human Worth Is Quantified.

A former freelance journalist, Marrs is known for his high-concept thrillers, which often explore the dark side of technology, a style frequently compared to the television series Black Mirror. His novel The One (2016), which likewise examines the societal impact of futuristic technology, was adapted into a Netflix series. The Passengers engages with contemporary debates surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence, surveillance culture, and the power of social media to shape public opinion and deliver mob justice.

This guide refers to the 2020 Berkley trade paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain depictions of graphic violence, suicidal ideation and death by suicide, child sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

The UK government has announced a program to mandate autonomous vehicles within a decade. Several people across the UK enter Level 5 autonomous vehicles, which are then remotely hijacked by an unknown entity called “the Hacker.” The Passengers include Claire Arden, a pregnant woman secretly transporting the body of her recently deceased husband, Ben, to his office to claim a larger insurance payout; Jude Harrison, an unhoused former programmer planning to die by suicide; Sofia Bradbury, an elderly actress who initially believes that she’s on a reality TV show; a married couple, Sam and Heidi Cole, traveling in separate cars; and Shabana Khartri, a non-English-speaking woman fleeing her abusive husband. The Hacker locks their doors, reroutes their destinations, and informs each of them that they’ll likely be dead in two and a half hours.

Meanwhile, Libby Dixon, a mental health nurse who distrusts driverless cars because of a fatal accident she witnessed on Monroe Street, begins her mandatory service on a secret Vehicle Inquest Jury. The jury, which includes the powerful Jack Larsson, a member of parliament and the transport minister, is interrupted by a live news broadcast of the hijacking. The Hacker seizes control of the screens in the inquest room, broadcasting the jury’s secret proceedings to the world. Libby is shocked to recognize Jude as a man she met once and with whom she felt an instant connection.

The Hacker begins a deadly game to expose the system’s flaws. He detonates the car of an arbitrary taxi Passenger named Victor Patterson, an elderly war veteran, after Jack defies an order. He then forces the jury and the public to vote on which Passenger should die next. The public’s opinion, monitored by a newly arrived social media analyst named Cadman, will act as a sixth juror. They choose another arbitrary taxi passenger named Bilquis Hamila, a Somali asylum seeker, and the Hacker promptly kills her before revealing her heroic and tragic backstory to shame the jurors. The situation escalates when a mob surrounds Shabana Khartri’s car, triggering an explosive device that kills her and dozens of onlookers.

The Hacker then changes the rules, forcing the jury and the public to vote to save one of the five remaining Passengers. Each juror is assigned a Passenger to interview live. Jack interviews Claire, who presents a sympathetic story about her high-risk pregnancy, only for the Hacker to reveal Ben’s dead body in her car’s trunk. Juror Fiona interviews Sofia, who portrays herself as a beloved philanthropist. However, the Hacker exposes her as complicit in her husband’s pedophilia, which she has covered up for decades. A mob later attacks Sofia’s car with petrol bombs.

Next, juror Muriel interviews Sam, who manipulates public opinion by arguing that his life as a father is as valuable as a mother’s. The Hacker, however, reveals that Sam is a bigamist who has a second wife and two other children. Juror Matthew then interviews Heidi, who feigns shock at the revelation about Sam. The Hacker exposes her as well, revealing that she knew about Sam’s secret life and was extorting him.

Libby interviews Jude, whom she was shocked to realize is the man she met six months ago and, feeling a deep romantic connection, has been trying to find ever since. Jude confesses his secret: He planned to die by suicide that morning. He details his long struggle with depression and being unhoused. Libby, whose brother died by suicide, forms a deep, immediate bond with him, and their tragic connection captures the world’s attention.

The jury’s initial votes favor Heidi, but this creates a deadlock with the public’s overwhelming support for Jude. To break the tie, the Hacker demands that a juror change their vote, and Jack spitefully casts the deciding vote for Heidi, condemning Jude. At that moment, Claire goes into premature labor. Led by Libby, the jury changes their votes to save Claire and her baby. The Hacker agrees to free her but first reveals his true motive. He exposes a secret government program, which Jack orchestrated, in which driverless cars are programmed to make life-or-death decisions based on a person’s calculated “value to society,” sacrificing those deemed less important. The jury is a sham to cover up this “social cleansing.”

The five cars converge on a derelict industrial site but screech to a halt, avoiding the collision. Claire, Sofia, Sam, and Heidi are freed. Jude’s car is empty: He was never a Passenger but a deepfake projection created via green screens. The Hacker then executes his real plan, triggering a nationwide hack that causes thousands of autonomous vehicles to crash, an attack that would ultimately result in 1,120 deaths.

Six months later, Claire has given birth to her son, Tate, and is building a media career. Sofia Bradbury’s death in her car is ruled death by suicide. Sam and Heidi are separated, and Heidi pleads guilty to extortion. Libby has become the spokesperson for Transparency in Artificial Intelligence (TIAI), a group demanding government accountability.

Libby is contacted by “Jude,” who lures her to the café on Monroe Street. He reveals that his real name is Alex Harris and that the family killed in the crash Libby witnessed was that of his brother, Noah. Alex, the mastermind of an organization called the Hacking Collective, sought revenge for his family’s deaths and his father’s ruined business. He confesses to murdering Noah when his brother tried to stop the plan from becoming violent. When Alex attacks Libby, a police sniper kills him because Libby secretly activated a police tracker.

Two years later, the government announces the limited reintroduction of driverless cars. Libby is marrying Matthew Nelson, a pathologist who was part of the jury, and they’re expecting a child. She’s stunned when Jack Larsson is acquitted of all charges. However, as Jack leaves the courthouse, his car is hijacked by the Hacking Collective’s remaining members. The Hacker’s voice informs him that he has two and a half hours to live, starting the cycle of terror anew.