The Republic of Thieves
Chapters - Scott Lynch
Prologue: The Minder
Young Locke Lamora endures the brutal pecking order of the Thiefmaker's orphan gang beneath Shades' Hill in Camorr. When assigned to a crew with two useless boys under the supervision of a girl called Beth (Sabetha Belacoros), he falls instantly and hopelessly in love. He secretly picks three purses to cover for the others, impressing Beth, but she remains cold toward him. Weeks later, Locke learns Beth has drowned during a botched Windows job, and he is beaten savagely by the older boys when he demands answers.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Sabetha Belacoros·Mentioned: Luciano Anatolius
Part 1: Her Shadow
Chapter 1: Things Get Worse
In Lashain, Jean Tannen desperately seeks a cure for the poison killing Locke Lamora, who bleeds from every orifice and grows weaker by the day. After kidnapping the city's best physiker, Zodesti, who declares the case hopeless, Jean draws the wrath of underworld boss Whispers Cortessa, who strips them of everything and orders them out of the city. That night, a mysterious older woman arrives - Archedama Patience of the Bondsmagi, the The Falconer's own mother - who reveals she can remove the poison and offers them a job rigging an election in Karthain in exchange for saving Locke's life.
POV: Jean Tannen·On page: Sabetha Belacoros, Patience, Locke Lamora
Section: Interlude: The Undrowned Girl
Locke Lamora is stunned to discover that Beth is alive and is actually Sabetha Belacoros, a fellow ward of Father Chains and a member of the Gentlemen Bastards. Chains had staged her drowning to cover her removal from Shades' Hill. After months of watching her from afar, Locke witnesses her dance with Galdo, her return from training, and finds himself more infatuated than ever. Chains sends Locke and Sabetha on a paired housebreaking job, where they successfully steal an emerald necklace from a townhouse rooftop, beginning their long partnership as thieves.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Sabetha Belacoros, Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 2: The Business
Patience reveals she is the The Falconer's mother, and that the Bondsmagi need Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen to rig an election in Karthain as proxies in a factional dispute. The magi are forbidden from using magic on one another, so they hire agents to compete every five years. Locke furiously resists, wanting to die rather than serve the Bondsmagi, but Jean delivers an impassioned speech about Locke's self-destructive tendencies. Locke relents and agrees to the job, negotiating conditions: a clean severance after the election and honest answers to his questions.
On page: Locke Lamora, Jean Tannen, Patience·Mentioned: Sabetha Belacoros, The Falconer
Section: Interlude: The Boy Who Chased Red Dresses
In a flashback to their teenage years, Locke Lamora and Sabetha Belacoros compete in one of Father Chains' training exercises through the streets of Camorr. Sabetha deploys an elaborate scheme with decoy girls, while Locke improvises desperately, faking illness to trick a yellowjacket into carrying him. The contest ends in a tie when Sabetha abandons her winning position to rescue Locke from what she believes is a real arrest. Chains uses the incident to teach them both about strategy and improvisation, and Locke is thrilled to realise Sabetha cared enough to throw the game for him.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Sabetha Belacoros, Father Chains
Section 1: Fuel
A brief telepathic exchange between two unnamed Bondsmagi conspirators. They confirm that Patience's Camorri agents have accepted her terms and discuss the deeper secret Patience has discovered about Locke Lamora, hinting at something called 'Lamor Acanthus.' The conspirators agree to let the five-year game play out while keeping their attention closely focused on Lamora.
On page: Coldmarrow·Mentioned: Locke Lamora, Jean Tannen, Patience
Chapter 3: Blood And Breat And Water
Aboard the ship Sky-Reacher, Patience and Coldmarrow perform a harrowing magical ritual to extract the poison from Locke Lamora's body, using dreamsteel needles, effigies made from his blood and hair, and black candle flames. Jean Tannen endures crippling nausea as a bystander while Locke suffers agonising internal pain and hallucinates a vision of the dead Bug accusing him. The ritual succeeds but leaves Locke ravenously hungry and desperately weak. He devours enormous quantities of food as his body fights to recover.
POV: Jean Tannen·On page: Locke Lamora, Patience, Coldmarrow, Bug
Section: Interlude: Orphan's Moon
During the Orphan's Moon ceremony, the young Gentleman Bastards - Locke Lamora, Jean Tannen, Calo, Galdo, and Sabetha Belacoros - are initiated into the mysteries of the Crooked Warden alongside other young thieves including Nazca Barsavi and Tesso Volanti. They witness a dramatic ritual where costumed figures representing the Sun, Justice, the Hired Man, and Judgment challenge the initiates before they swear blood oaths. Earlier that day, Locke and Jean ran a cake scam to earn their offering, while Sabetha audaciously stole three truncheons from city watchmen.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Sabetha Belacoros, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Father Chains, Nazca Barsavi
Chapter 4: Across The Amathel
Across the Amathel, Locke Lamora recovers his wits and confronts Jean Tannen about his disturbing vision of Bug. Jean talks him through it as a nightmare born of trauma and drugs. Patience then shares her memories directly with Locke and Jean via dreamsteel, showing them the Bondsmagi's Sky Chamber debate over the The Falconer's contract to destroy Camorr's nobility. The memory reveals that Patience allowed the contract to pass knowing the Falconer would come to grief, having placed a hidden trap in his mind. She also explains why the Bondsmagi exist: to keep human magic quiet, lest they attract whatever catastrophic force drove the Eldren from the world.
POV: Jean Tannen·On page: Locke Lamora, Patience, Coldmarrow, The Falconer, Foresight, Temperance, Providence, Navigator·Mentioned: Luciano Anatolius
Part 1: Cross-Purposes
Section: Interlude: Striking Sparks
In a flashback, teenage Locke Lamora has an intensely vivid romantic dream about Sabetha Belacoros that ends with him crashing off his cot and waking the entire household. During baton practice, Sabetha teases him mercilessly about his obvious infatuation. She challenges him about whether he could handle rejection, reveals that she turned down advances from both Sanza twins, and probes whether he even knows her preferences. After toying with his nerves, she confirms she likes 'snails' - boys - and tells him she hasn't decided yet whether to encourage or rebuff him.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Sabetha Belacoros, Jean Tannen·Mentioned: Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 5: The Five-Year Game
Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen arrive in Karthain and are immediately taken in hand by Nikoros, a Deep Roots party operative. They are outfitted with fine clothes, given access to party funds, and introduced to the election apparatus. Locke spots Sabetha Belacoros watching them from a distance - she is their opponent, running the Black Iris campaign. At a lavish Deep Roots party, Locke and Jean meet key figures like Firstson Epitalus and Damned Superstition Dexa, but the evening is disrupted when a court herald arrives with a warrant to shut down Josten's inn - the first salvo from the Black Iris side.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Sabetha Belacoros, Nikoros, Patience, Vordratha, Lovaris, Acanthus, Vidalos
Section: Interlude: Bastards Abroad
The Gentlemen Bastards travel overland to Espara with a merchant caravan, heading for a summer job with the Jasmer Moncraine theatrical company arranged by Father Chains. During the journey, Locke Lamora and Sabetha Belacoros have a charged conversation where she acknowledges his feelings and they begin to cautiously flirt. Upon arriving in Espara, they discover that company director Jasmer Moncraine has been imprisoned for punching a nobleman, and the troupe is in shambles - just a drunken Sylvanus, capable Jenora, and young Alondo remain.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Sabetha Belacoros, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Sylvanus, Jenora, Alondo·Mentioned: Father Chains
Chapter 6: The Five-Year Game: Change Of Venue
Locke Lamora brilliantly deflects the court warrant threatening Josten's inn by inventing fake statutes on the spot, buying the Deep Roots time. However, Sabetha Belacoros's Black Iris campaign launches increasingly sophisticated attacks: planting spies in their ranks, bribing officials, and spreading rumours. The chapter establishes the escalating chess match between Locke and Sabetha as they both deploy cunning electoral dirty tricks across Karthain's districts, with Nikoros serving as Locke's increasingly anxious right hand.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Nikoros, Vordratha, Lovaris, Acanthus·Mentioned: Sabetha Belacoros
Section 1: Tinder
Another brief telepathic exchange between Bondsmagi conspirators. They note that Patience's Camorri agents have been outmaneuvered and shipped out to sea in irons by Sabetha Belacoros's forces. One conspirator warns the other not to underestimate them, reminding them that the The Falconer once made the same mistake. They discuss the deeper secret around Lamora and urge close attention.
Mentioned: Locke Lamora, Jean Tannen, The Falconer
Section: Interlude: The Moncraine Company
Locke Lamora negotiates Jasmer Moncraine's release from prison by convincing young Baron Gennaro Boulidazi to become the company's noble patron, using Sabetha Belacoros's charm and their fake noble identities. Boulidazi agrees, drawn by Sabetha's beauty and his passion for fencing, which Jean Tannen demonstrates. The reunited Moncraine Company gains the addition of Chantal and her husband Bertrand after a dramatic audition that includes a brutal fight between Bert and Jean. They begin rehearsing 'The Republic of Thieves,' a tragic play about the historical figures Aurin and Amadine.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Sabetha Belacoros, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Jasmer Moncraine, Gennaro Boulidazi, Jenora, Alondo, Sylvanus, Chantal, Bertrand, Gloriano, Salvard
Chapter 7: The Five-Year Game: Countermove
Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen awaken as prisoners aboard a ship, kidnapped by Sabetha Belacoros's agents. Shackled at the ankles, they are treated to luxurious food and wine but are unable to bribe or escape their captors. Captain Volantyne explains they will enjoy a comfortable month-long voyage west and back. Meanwhile, the chapter reveals Sabetha's masterful counter-move in the election game, demonstrating that she is every bit the match Locke feared.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Vordratha, Vidalos·Mentioned: Sabetha Belacoros
Part 3: Fatal Honesty
Chapter 8: The Five-Year Game: Infinite Variation
Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen manage to escape their imprisonment and return to Karthain, launching into a furious counter-campaign. They deploy increasingly creative and ruthless electoral tactics against the Black Iris, including manipulating district boundaries, bribing officials, staging public spectacles, and engineering scandals. The election becomes a brutal back-and-forth battle of wits between Locke and Sabetha Belacoros, with both sides spending lavishly and bending every rule that isn't enforced by the Bondsmagi.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Sabetha Belacoros, Nikoros, Vordratha