The Lies of Locke Lamora
Chapters - Scott Lynch
Prologue: The Boy Who Stole Too Much
The Thiefmaker of Camorr attempts to sell the troublesome young Locke Lamora to Father Chains, the Eyeless Priest of Perelandro, revealing that the boy has a death-mark on his head. Through flashbacks, we learn how Locke came to Shades' Hill as a Catchfire plague orphan, showed a dangerous talent for thievery, and caused escalating disasters including a fake plague scare that burned down a tavern and triggered a riot. Father Chains reveals himself to be a fraud - a sighted priest of the Nameless Thirteenth, the god of thieves - and buys Locke after learning the boy arranged the murders of two older orphans. Chains initiates Locke into the Gentlemen Bastards, making him swear a blood oath and imposing death-offerings as penance for the lives he caused to be lost.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Thiefmaker·Mentioned: Capa Barsavi
Book 1: Ambition
Chapter 1: The Don Salvara Game
The adult Gentlemen Bastards execute the first touch of an elaborate confidence game on Don Lorenzo Salvara. Locke Lamora, disguised as Vadran merchant Lukas Fehrwight, stages a fake mugging in an alley with Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, and Jean Tannen playing their parts, while Bug serves as lookout on a rooftop. When a foot patrol threatens to blow the con, Bug leaps off the roof as a distraction, injuring himself but preserving the game. Don Salvara rescues 'Fehrwight' and is hooked by a fabricated business opportunity involving Austershalin brandy, agreeing to meet the next day. Bug escapes the watch by hiding in a barrel, and the gang celebrates their successful first contact.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Jean Tannen, Don Lorenzo Salvara, Conte
Section: Interlude: Locke Explains
In this flashback interlude, young Locke Lamora confesses to Father Chains on the temple rooftop about the deaths of Veslin and Gregor at Shades' Hill. Locke explains he stole a white iron crown and planted it among Veslin's belongings to frame the bully for taking money from the watch, but the Thiefmaker's response was far more lethal than Locke anticipated. Chains reveals that Locke's scheme was flawed in multiple ways - the coin was too valuable, it implicated Gregor as well, and the other children who helped steal the coin now know too much. Chains tells Locke that his former master will likely kill the children who helped him, making Locke responsible for their deaths as well.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Father Chains
Chapter 2: Second Touch at the Teeth Show
The Gentlemen Bastards make their second touch on Don Lorenzo Salvara at the Shifting Revel, Camorr's monthly spectacle. Locke Lamora as Fehrwight presents an elaborate tale about political upheaval in the Kingdom of the Seven Marrows and a secret business opportunity involving Austershalin brandy. He gifts Don Salvara a genuine 502 vintage cask and shows him a supposed sample of the unaged 559 vintage. The don and Dona Dona Sofia Salvara are thoroughly hooked, and Locke secures a signed promissory note for five thousand crowns. Meanwhile, that night Locke and Calo Sanza break into the Salvara manor disguised as Midnighters - the duke's secret police - and convince Don Salvara that Fehrwight is actually the legendary Thorn of Camorr, instructing the don to continue giving money to catch the thief.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Capa Barsavi, Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Don Lorenzo Salvara, Doña Sofia Salvara, Conte
Section: Interlude: Locke Stays For Dinner
In this flashback, Father Chains explains to young Locke Lamora the consequences of his scheming at Shades' Hill - the children who helped him steal the white iron coin will be killed by the Thiefmaker because they know too much and could undermine his authority. Chains forces Locke to understand that carelessness kills, and imposes death-offerings of a thousand full crowns per victim, to be stolen by Locke's own hand. Locke swears a blood oath and officially becomes a Gentleman Bastard. Chains then reveals the hidden luxury beneath the temple - an Elderglass cellar with fine furnishings, elaborate meals, and a celestial chandelier. The twins welcome Locke at dinner, where Chains explains his plan to train the children as gentleman thieves who can pass among the nobility.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 3: Imaginary Men
Locke Lamora and Calo Sanza execute the third touch on Don Lorenzo Salvara, breaking into his manor at night disguised as Midnighters. After subduing Conte with a crimper's hood and narcotic, they wait in the don's study and convince him that Lukas Fehrwight is the Thorn of Camorr, instructing him to keep giving money to trap the thief. The don reluctantly agrees under the weight of the duke's supposed authority. Meanwhile, the Gentlemen Bastards celebrate their growing score - now at five thousand crowns with more to come. A mysterious flying shadow is spotted trailing Locke and Calo as they leave the Alcegrante, hinting at surveillance by the The Falconer's hawk, Vestris.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Don Lorenzo Salvara, Conte
Section: Interlude: The Last Mistake
In this flashback interlude, young Locke Lamora experiences his first hangover after the previous night's dinner. Father Chains takes him to the Last Mistake tavern to meet Capa Barsavi, riding a Gentled goat through the streets. Along the way, Chains explains how Barsavi unified Camorr's underworld, establishing the Secret Peace with Duke Nicovante that forbids thieves from targeting nobles. At the Last Mistake, Locke swears fealty to Barsavi with a blood oath involving a magically enchanted shark's tooth. He meets young Nazca Barsavi, the capa's daughter, and impulsively kneels to her as well. Afterward, Chains confides that true obedience to Barsavi is only pretend - the Gentlemen Bastards are meant to be a weapon aimed straight through the heart of the Secret Peace.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Capa Barsavi, Nazca Barsavi
Book 2: Complicaiton
Chapter 4: At the Court of Capa Barsavi
Locke Lamora visits the Floating Grave to deliver his weekly tribute to Capa Barsavi, accompanied by Nazca Barsavi. He witnesses Barsavi torturing and killing members of the Full Crowns gang over the mysterious death of their leader Tesso, whom the Gray King murdered. Barsavi confides in Locke about his fears for the future and his sons' lack of prudence, then shocks Locke by giving him permission to court Nazca - a plan to install Locke as a steadying influence on his sons through marriage. Locke and Nazca privately agree to play along while scheming to escape the arrangement. The Gentlemen Bastards debate whether to cut short the Salvara game, but Locke insists on pressing forward despite the mounting dangers.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Capa Barsavi, Nazca Barsavi, Anjais Barsavi, Pachero Barsavi, Cheryn Berangias, Raiza Berangias, Sage Kindness·Mentioned: The Grey King
Section: Interlude: The Boy Who Cried for a Corpse
In this flashback, Father Chains assigns young Locke Lamora and the Sanza twins their first real job - stealing a fresh corpse for the black alchemist Jessaline d'Aubart. Locke devises an elaborate scheme: he bribes clerks at the Palace of Patience to claim a hanged criminal's body under the guise of a religious interment, then stages a fake pickpocketing in the Videnza district market. Calo Sanza pretends to rob Locke of the funeral payment purse, and the merchants of the Videnza, outraged at the theft from young priests, shower the boys with replacement money, food, and gifts. The scheme nets them their corpse plus a tidy profit, demonstrating Locke's talent for multi-layered cons.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 5: The Grey King
Locke Lamora collects another promissory note from Dona Dona Sofia Salvara, pushing the Salvara take past seventeen thousand crowns. Walking through Twosilver Green afterwards, he is ambushed and brought before the Gray King and his Bondsmage, the The Falconer. The Gray King reveals he knows everything about the Gentlemen Bastards and their schemes, threatening to expose them to Barsavi. He coerces Locke into agreeing to impersonate the Gray King at a meeting with Capa Barsavi three nights hence. Locke returns to his gang to deliver the grim news. They debate running but conclude the Bondsmage could track them anywhere, and begin making contingency plans for escape while continuing the Salvara game.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: The Grey King, Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Doña Sofia Salvara, Conte, The Falconer
Section: Interlude: Jean Tannen
This flashback interlude tells how Jean Tannen joined the Gentlemen Bastards. Jean arrived as a soft, grieving merchant's son whose parents had just died in a fire five days prior. Locke Lamora initially resented and bullied Jean, but the heavier boy beat him soundly in a fight when Locke mocked his dead parents. Father Chains used the situation to humble Locke, pitting him against Jean in arithmetic contests where Jean's superior skills were obvious. Locke eventually apologised, and the two bonded over a nighttime conversation on the roof. Locke stole optics for Jean (the wrong kind, but the gesture mattered) and offered to teach Jean thieving in exchange for mathematics lessons, cementing their lifelong friendship.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 6: Limitations
Locke Lamora is summoned to the Floating Grave at dawn, where Capa Barsavi reveals that Nazca Barsavi has been murdered by the Gray King - drowned in horse urine and returned in a barrel. Locke recognises the scorpion hawk sting marks on her neck and tells Barsavi about the possibility of a Bondsmage. Barsavi declares he will attend the Gray King's proposed meeting at the Echo Hole with a hundred of his best fighters, and commands Locke and Jean Tannen to accompany him. Locke convenes the Gentlemen Bastards and lays out the terrible situation - he must impersonate the Gray King at the very meeting where Barsavi intends bloody vengeance. He summons the The Falconer via the magic candle, confronting him about Nazca's murder, and is tortured with sorcery for his insolence.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Capa Barsavi, Nazca Barsavi, The Falconer, Anjais Barsavi
Section: Interlude: Brat Masterpieces
This flashback interlude describes how Father Chains trained his Gentlemen Bastards as fighters. Chains confronts Locke Lamora about his physical limitations in combat and arranges for the boys to train under Don Maranzalla, a former soldier and the duke's personal swordmaster, at the House of Glass Roses - a deadly Elderglass structure. Jean Tannen proves to be a natural fighter and eventually finds his signature weapons, a pair of hatchets called the Wicked Sisters. Locke learns enough to survive but is told his strengths lie elsewhere - in cleverness and deception rather than brute force.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Father Chains·Mentioned: Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 7: Out the Window
Locke Lamora takes barrow-robber's blossom, a powerful emetic from the black alchemist Jessaline, to fake a severe illness and avoid accompanying Capa Barsavi to the Echo Hole. When Anjais Barsavi arrives to collect him, Locke is genuinely retching and incapacitated. Anjais reluctantly leaves without them. Once the coast is clear, Locke drinks the antidote and the Gentlemen Bastards split up - Calo Sanza and Galdo Sanza prepare escape carts at the temple, Bug and Jean Tannen take up hidden positions beneath the Echo Hole, and Locke is disguised as the Gray King with gray hair, false wrinkles, and padded boots. The Falconer guides Locke telepathically into position as Barsavi's funeral procession approaches.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, The Falconer, Anjais Barsavi
Section: Interlude: Up the River
In this flashback, Father Chains sends young Locke Lamora to live on a farm at Villa Senziano for several months as part of his education. During the cart ride north, Chains reveals his own past - he was a soldier from that same village, one of three survivors from a cohort that went to war. One became a farmer (Vandros, who Locke will stay with), another became a baron (Don Maranzalla, Jean Tannen's fighting instructor), and Chains became a thieving priest. The trip serves as both practical training in rural life and a test of Locke's ability to function independently, away from the support of his Gentleman Bastard brothers.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Father Chains, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza
Chapter 8: The Funeral Cask
Capa Barsavi's funeral procession marches to the Echo Hole. Locke Lamora, disguised as the Gray King, stands alone in the darkness as the capa's hundred armed fighters file in. The Falconer's magic deflects a volley of crossbow bolts, seemingly confirming the Gray King's supernatural protection. But Barsavi has been tipped off by a supposed traitor from the Gray King's camp - a dying man named Eymon tests the 'kill by touch' legend by grabbing Locke, and nothing happens. Locke's cover is blown. Barsavi and his sons beat him savagely, then seal him in a cask of horse urine and throw him into the waterways beneath the Echo Hole. Below, Jean Tannen fights off a pack of unnatural salt devil spiders and hacks open the cask, rescuing Locke from drowning.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: The Falconer, Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug, Capa Barsavi, Anjais Barsavi, Pachero Barsavi·Mentioned: Nazca Barsavi
Section: Interlude: The Half-Crown War
This flashback interlude describes the Half-Crown War, a mischievous conflict between the Gentlemen Bastards and the other youth gangs of Camorr. Starting as a petty feud, it escalated into an elaborate series of pranks, thefts, and schemes that kept the children occupied and sharpened their skills. The interlude showcases the camaraderie and competitive spirit among Camorr's young thieves while demonstrating how Father Chains' training had made his boys formidable even among their criminal peers.
POV: Locke Lamora·On page: Jean Tannen, Calo Sanza, Galdo Sanza, Bug·Mentioned: Father Chains