Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim takes place in British India in the late nineteenth century. Kim, a thirteen-year-old, was raised by the keeper of an opium den in Lahore. Of Irish descent, Kim has the ability to blend into different cultures. Because of his affinity for language, he is known as "Friend of All the World." He soon meets a Buddhist lama from Tibet, who has come to seek Enlightenment at the Holy River. Kim decides he will accompany him to help him find the river-its location is a mystery to all. He tells his friend Mahbub Ali that he is going, and Ali gives him papers to bring to an Englishman in Umballa. On the night of their departure, Kim sees two strangers poking through Ali's things and knows that there is danger.
On the train ride to Umballa, Kim and the Tibetan meet people from all walks of life, who celebrate an array of customs and speak many languages. When they arrive, Kim finds the Englishman, a colonel, and delivers the papers from Ali. It is only then that he learns there is war brewing and suspects the papers are directly related. On the outskirts of Umballa, Kim and the lama meet an older Indian soldier who fought for the British years before. Kim pretends to foretell a war, but the man asks for more information, which Kim provides. The soldier joins Kim and the lama, and the trio travel to the Grand Trunk Road.
There, Kim is captured by an English regiment. When they discover that he is Irish, and that his father, Kimball O'Hara, fought with them, they refuse to let him travel with the lama. The lama leaves to resume his search for the Holy River. Kim is left with a drummer boy, who verbally and physically abuses him. Despite this, Kim manages to get a letter to Mahbub Ali. Father Victor, who travels with the regiment, reveals a letter that says the lama will pay for Kim's education at St. Xavier's, a Catholic school for white men. Ali arrives and tries to convince Kim that going to St. Xavier's is what is best for him. The Colonel Creighton arrives next;he wants to eventually employ Kim as a spy.
Kim spends a year at St. Xavier's and, that summer, disguises himself as a Hindu beggar to go and work with Ali. He learns that Ali is a spy for the British Army, and that Ali will train him to become a spy in the Great Game. When Kim later overhears two strangers planning to kill Ali, he warns Ali and saves his life. Creighton then sends him to stay with Lurgan Sahib, another spy and a hypnotist. He and ChunderMookerjee oversee Kim's spy training before Mookerjee takes Kim back to St. Xavier's and gives him a medicine kit. Kim has a successful year at school, and trains again during his breaks.
When Kim is sixteen, he is discharged from school and given a disguise as a Buddhist priest so he can begin working as a spy. Kim has an identity crisis but meets up with the lama again. When Kim helps disguise a man in the spy network, the lama believes he has become capable of casting spells, and warns Kim against using such powers for pride. Kim meets up with Mookerjee, who tells him that the northern border is under threat. Five kings ruling the independent regions beyond the border are allying with the Russians. Mookerjee asks Kim to help, so Kim convinces the lama that they have to travel north.
When Mookerjee catches up with the spies, he discovers that one of them is actually French. He convinces them that he is an emissary, sent to welcome them by the Rajah of Rampur. When he and the spies reunite with the lama and Kim, the Russian tries to take the lama's drawing of the Wheel of Life. A fight ensues, and the French spy escapes with their luggage. Kim tells the Buddhist servants with the French spy that the luggage is cursed, and so is able to relieve them of it-and the papers it contains.
