Kimball O'Hara, orphaned son of an Irish soldier, grows up in the streets of Lahore as a native, speaks the languages, knows the bazaars, and becomes entangled in the Great Game between Britain and Russia. Kipling loved India as only someone raised there could, and the novel is saturated with its sights and smells and sounds. Kim's dual identity, between cultures and allegiances, makes him both spy and pilgrim. The lama he accompanies seeks the River of the Arrow; Kim seeks belonging. The novel is Kipling's masterpiece, problematic in its imperialism, undeniable in its power.