Twist

Twist by Colum McCann was published on March 25, 2025, by Random House. A work of literary fiction that includes thriller genre elements, the novel follows Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist, as he researches underwater cable repair for an article. He forges a relationship with the man in charge of repair in South Africa, Conway, and his partner Zanele, and as time goes on, Conway’s disillusionment becomes a focal point of the novel. Twist features themes such as The Fragility of Technological Dependence, Repairing Personal Disconnection, and The Legacy of European Colonialism. McCann is known for his other works, such as TransAtlantic (longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2013), Thirteen Ways of Looking, Apeirogon (longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020), and Let the Great World Spin, which won the 2009 National Book Award for Fiction. 

This guide refers to the hardcover edition published in 2025 by Random House. 

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of substance use, addiction, illness, mental illness, suicidal ideation, death, and racism.

Plot Summary

Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist, takes an assignment for an article about underwater cables. When he arrives in South Africa for the assignment, he notices how segregated Cape Town appears to be, despite apartheid’s end over two decades before. 

Anthony calls the company he is writing about, saying he wants to go out on their ship to see a repair. However, they tell him this only happens when a cable breaks, which is unpredictable. They do connect him with their chief of mission, John Conway.

Conway and Anthony meet at a hotel and get to know each other. Conway is also from Ireland, though he seems reluctant to share this information. He discourages Anthony from joining him on the ship, the Georges Lecointe, saying he can connect him with another ship. Anthony remains adamant that he join Conway.

Both men comment that they dislike the hotel bar they are in, and Conway invites Anthony back to his home. He talks about his partner, Zanele, praising her and her talents as an actor. At Conway’s home, Anthony meets Zanele and is taken with her charm and beauty. She and Conway’s children will soon be leaving for England, where she will be performing in a gender-swapped production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, adapted to focus on climate change. Before Anthony leaves, Zanele asks him if he has any children, and he lies, saying he doesn’t.

Zanele leaves for England, and a few days later, Conway calls Anthony, drunk, saying he resigned from the Georges Lecointe. Anthony, who has an alcohol addiction, invites Conway out for coffee. Conway refuses but invites Anthony to come diving with him the next day. 

When Anthony joins the diving group, he meets Conway’s friends, all scientists with an interest in the ocean. Out on the water, Conway and another man descend to plant gravestones, a tradition honoring free divers who have died. Conway explains that he loves diving because it is an otherworldly experience that brings him peace. Later, Anthony speaks with one of Conway’s friends at a bar and learns that Conway has “missing years.”

Torrential rain creates extensive flooding in the Congo River, washing large amounts of soil, sediment, and debris out into the ocean. This causes an underwater avalanche that severs a cable. That day, Anthony goes out for a walk and learns that the internet and communications are down across western South Africa. He realizes that this could be a cable break and rushes to the port to find Conway.

Conway initially refuses to let Anthony come along, warning him that once he is on the ship, he cannot leave. Anthony assures him he does not care. Though the Georges Lecointe will stay docked for a few days as they wait out an approaching storm, Conway allows Anthony onto the ship. For the first three days, Anthony suffers from extreme seasickness at port. Despite this, Anthony decides to stay on board when the ship leaves port.

As the ship travels to the site of the cable break, Anthony explores the ship, meeting crew members. He gains the privilege of accessing the internet from his cabin whenever he likes. Over the first few days, he learns about cable repair, Conway’s dislike of the connectivity the cables provide, and life as a crew member. When one crew member, Petrus, receives news of his mother’s death, the ship stops, and for half an hour, the crew observes a memorial service. When it ends, Petrus returns to work.

Conway refuses to share news about Zanele, focusing on work instead. With no alcohol on board, Anthony achieves sobriety for the first time in 18 years. He loses weight and feels healthier. This, and the rejuvenating qualities of life on the ocean, inspire him to write a letter to his son, Joli.

Anthony met Irenea at a hospital, him for an ankle injury, and her for an illness. Irenea gave Anthony her number, but when she did not return his calls, he checked at the hospital and found that she was seriously ill. He helped her recover, and they fell in love. They married when Irenea was eight months pregnant and had a son, Joli. When Joli was a year and a half old, Irenea took him home with her to Argentina. Anthony visited for a few years, but when Irenea found a new partner, whom Joli saw as a father, he stayed away.

When they reach the site of the cable break, it takes days to pull the cable up. As they wait, Conway informs Anthony that another break occurred north of them, in Ghana, adding weeks to their trip. Anthony does not care. They bring the cable up, repair it, and begin the search for the other side, which they will then splice to the new one.

Meanwhile, Zanele is attacked during her show; a man from the crowd throws acid at her. She recovers, but Conway cannot leave and join her. Online, rumors swirl that she planned the attack, and as Anthony asks Conway about her, Conway grows tense. In Anthony’s web searches, he finds a picture of Zanele and Conway, but Conway is called Alistair. Conway explains that he used it because he was in the US, where he and Zanele met. Eventually, Conway, in an act of retribution for Anthony’s nosiness, rescinds Anthony’s internet privileges.

They finally finish repairs and head north to Ghana. The following morning, Conway is gone. No one, not even Zanele, knows where he is. Anthony leaves the ship and searches Accra for Conway. The police believe that Conway returned home, having learned that Zanele’s move to London was permanent, and she and Conway had split. The Georges Lecointe completes its repair and leaves Ghana, but Anthony stays.

He rents a bungalow and works on his article. He befriends Veliane, a woman who cooks and cleans for him. One day, Zanele calls, asking him not to include Conway in his article. She hints that she spoke with him recently but offers no other information. Veliane, who overhears some of the conversation, tells Anthony that she does not like the sound of Zanele.

Anthony submits the article. He is disappointed when Veliane stops coming to work. After trying to resist, he goes to the liquor store for a celebratory drink, but when Veliane walks by, he walks with her instead. She brings him to a large open space where people salvage minerals and other resources from debris. She points out two boys working on a segment of underwater cables and explains that Conway helped them get this broken piece that was left on the ocean floor. Anthony asks if she knows where he went, but she only knows that he went north.

A year after Conway’s disappearance, the COVID-19 pandemic begins. Soon after, Conway reemerges in Egypt, where he disables two underwater cables and disappears again. 

Anthony creates a fictional account of what he believes Conway did. In it, Conway, dissatisfied with the state of the world, decides to make a statement and sabotage two cables. He chooses Alexandria, Egypt, and pretends to be a fisherman, all the while planning his sabotage. He creates bombs and locates two cables. One morning, he dives and severs the first cable. He succeeds in severing the second cable but never resurfaces. He becomes a myth, and despite everyone’s theories, Anthony does not believe Conway intended to hurt anyone with the sabotage.

Days after Conway’s stunt in Egypt, divers elsewhere find a backpack attached to an underwater cable. It is only filled with sand, but soon, identical backpacks are found around the world. There is panic, but Anthony believes it is a stunt. Five months after Egypt, Conway’s body washes up on Libyan shores.

Years later, Anthony reconnects with Zanele in London. They wonder about why Conway did what he did and decide that he wanted to connect the world by disconnecting it. As they part, Anthony is reminded of how painful it was to be disconnected from his son, thankful that his letter and efforts are hopefully reconnecting them.