The Third Man by Graham Greene. Short summary

5 seconds

Harry Lime invites his friend, the American writer Holly Martins, to visit the Austrian capital, half-destroyed during the last world war. Upon her arrival, Holly learns that Harry has recently died.

1 minute

American writer Holly Martins arrives in dilapidated Vienna at the invitation of his old friend Harry Lime. When Martins arrives in the Austrian capital, he learns from a janitor that Lime was fatally hit by a car shortly before his arrival.

Holly rushes to his comrade’s funeral. There he meets a British military intelligence officer, Major Calloway. In addition, there he sees a strange girl named Anna. After the funeral ceremony, Calloway suggests that Martins visit a local bar. He agrees to the major’s proposal, and already in the bar Calloway tells Holly that in fact Lime was a famous gangster.

The writer believed that he was well aware of his own friend’s life over several decades of their communication and therefore refused to believe Calloway’s words. The latter advised Martins to rest in a hotel and fly back to the United States in the morning. However, Holly does not want to rush back home, but wants to find out the circumstances of his friend’s death in person.