The Expats

Kate waits for her children outside of their school, thinking about the night she and Dexter had gone to the club with the Macleans. Dexter later tells Kate that he will be home late—not because of work but because he and Bill are playing tennis. Dexter is away for so long that it upsets their children.

Julia visits Kate’s house to use her internet connection, so Kate leaves her to work on the home computer. On her own, Kate decides to look Bill up online, but she finds nothing relevant. Later, when Julia asks Kate if Dexter is a great husband, Kate reflects on what has changed in his behavior since their move: He has become more attentive, and yet absent at the same time. However, she tells Julia that he is.

In a flashback, the novel returns to Kate’s exit interview with Evan, who asks her about the targets whose deaths she had been involved in. Specifically, Evan asks her about Eduardo Torres, which Kate has been dreading.

The novel flashes forward to the day of the Prelude, as Kate calls Dexter from the gallery. He tells her that Julia has found her. The novel describes their last encounter being marked by a hasty departure. Kate and Dexter arrange to meet up with Julia and Bill that night. Kate worries that the night will end with them fleeing to the countryside. She passes along Julia’s message, which Dexter acknowledges.

Out of boredom, Kate calls an old friend from work—a man named Hayden—and asks him for fun facts. At breakfast, she makes passive-aggressive comments at Dexter, who calls her “Kat.” He asks her what she wants to know about his work, and then he tells her about planning system security tests. He explains there are three ways to break into a system: exploiting an opening, forcefully breaking in, or social engineering. Dexter works to ensure that no one can use one or any combination of these methods to rob his bank.

Kate visits Julia’s interior design website and notices that there are no reviews or client testimonials. Later, she gets upset with Dexter when she learns that he is going to Sarajevo to help his clients resolve some security issues. Kate goes to the bathroom to cry, regretting the move to Luxembourg.

The novel briefly flashes back to the interview with Evan, where he indicates that Torres’s death was suspicious, considering his relatively low profile. Kate argues that any of his enemies could plausibly be blamed for it, noting that “[g]rudges […] are timeless” (127). Evan agrees.

Kate bumps into Bill while walking around town. Bill jokes that he is looking around for a new sex partner while Julia is away, then admits that he is going to the computer store. Kate compliments him on the way he had dispatched the thugs outside the club, which he chalks up to reflexes. They talk about Bill and Julia’s colleges in Illinois before Bill earnestly proposes having sex. Kate declines. Later, she calls up the colleges Bill had mentioned to verify their identities. The registrar confirms that Bill had attended the University of Chicago, but there is no photograph on file. This increases Kate’s suspicion.

Kate speculates the possible reasons that Bill and Julia might have created fake identities. She starts researching reported crimes in Chicago to see if she can find anything.

The novel flashes back to the interview with Evan, where he tells her that the CIA cannot lift her cover and that she is done with her exit interviews.

Kate visits Julia at her apartment. The residence overlooks the Grand Ducal Palace, where a high-ranking Italian official is visiting. While Julia makes coffee, Kate muses that the window would be a great vantage point for shooters. Her theory about Bill and Julia shifts away from escape to mission fulfillment; they could be trying to assassinate someone. Later that night, Dexter notices that something is on Kate’s mind, but she chooses not to share her suspicions.

The novel flashes forward to the day of the Prelude. Kate reaches her apartment and tentatively begins packing. This is described as part of an agreement between Kate and Dexter in the event that someone from their past reemerges. As she packs, Kate reflects on the fact that she has become the type of expatriate woman who owns a set of matching luggage. When she realizes that all of this is a result of her decision to join the CIA in college, she rushes down the hall.

Kate fails to find anything substantial to support her theories. She briefly recalls her actions in New York; a woman had witnessed Kate after she had killed a man in his hotel room. Hayden had told her that some of her experiences would haunt her for the rest of her life. In the present, she realizes that all her travels are attempts to escape her guilt. She calls Hayden for travel suggestions in Bavaria and hints at meeting up.

Kate arrives at Julia’s apartment and asks if she can use her phone to call Dexter. The call is a diversion that allows Kate to look around. She takes a business card for a tennis club, as well as some lip balm. Later, Kate and Julia go out, but Kate’s mind is preoccupied. She wonders if Bill and Julia are there for her because of her link to Eduardo Torres.

Kate waits for Bill to leave his office, then she sneaks into the building by pretending to deliver mail to his neighbor. She tries to pick the locks on Bill’s door but is unsuccessful. In the neighboring unit, she is able to enter Bill’s office through the window instead. All the while, she realizes that she is better suited for espionage than domestic life.

Bill’s office resembles a makeshift apartment, containing everything from exercise gear to a bedroom for his affairs. She checks under the bed and finds a handgun taped underneath.