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The Eleventh Hour — Hachette UK ebook edition
Hachette UK ebook edition

The DestroyerBook 701987

The Eleventh Hour

A Detroit arson investigation draws Remo and Chiun into a much larger crisis when a journalist’s story about Sinanju reaches Soviet intelligence. As Chiun returns to his village and Remo confronts questions of home, succession, and an unsettling voice, the Soviets try to trade CURE’s exposure for control of the Master of Sinanju.

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Korean-American journalist Sammy Kee travels to North Korea to film Sinanju’s history and the Master’s connection to the United States. KGB Colonel Viktor Ditko steals Kee’s footage, seeks leverage in Moscow, and sends him back for more; Kee records Chiun and Remo, murders a village boy while disguised as a dragon, and is then shot by Ditko after returning with the tape. In Detroit, Remo and Chiun investigate Devil’s Night arson and Remo kills organizer Moe Joakley after a fire injures Chiun. Chiun appears gravely ill, so Remo takes him home to Sinanju; there he presses Remo to succeed him and support the village. Chiun tells Remo the legend that a future white pupil will become Shiva the Destroyer and succeed the Master.

Mah-Li, an ostracized veiled woman, tells Remo the Lost Master Kojong legend; Remo becomes attracted to her and agrees to stay. Chiun then dispenses with the ceremony for the moment and declares Remo the new reigning Master; the later formal investment remains to be done properly, and Remo and Mah-Li are not yet married. The Soviets use Kee’s footage to force the unnamed U.S. President to order CURE disbanded and permit Soviet control of Chiun and Remo. Smith travels to Sinanju and transfers the contract; the Soviet troops then betray the agreement and attack the village. Remo fights back but surrenders to save the villagers and Mah-Li.

Smith tries to commit suicide, but Remo revives him. Remo enters Moscow in an experimental aircraft, battles his way to the Kremlin, and reunites with Chiun, who has forced the Soviet General Secretary to destroy his tapes and release the contract. Its nontransferability clause voids Soviet control. On return, Chiun admits no literal death date and Remo suspects the illness was a ploy to bring him home and strengthen his Sinanju identity against Shiva; Chiun deflects but then agrees to fund Mah-Li’s dowry. Remo chooses to remain in Sinanju and become Chiun’s eventual successor. Smith’s call from the President says CURE may resume operations; Remo declines to return, while allowing Smith to continue the search for Remo’s biological parents.

Sources for this summary

Characters & places

Spoilers

Full articles

Characters 32

Places 20

Organizations 6

Groups 5

Lore 2

Objects 2

Chapter summaries18 chapters · spoilers

  1. Chapter 1

    Kee, an American journalist born in San Francisco, enters Pyongyang and seeks asylum at the Soviet embassy. In interrogation, he tells Ditko why he filmed Sinanju and its alleged American connection.

  2. Chapter 2

    Remo and Chiun patrol Detroit during its arson curfew. A teenager points Remo toward organizer Moe Joakley; Remo reports to Smith, then enters a burning home to rescue a family.

  3. Chapter 3

    A collapsing house injures Chiun and Remo appears to speak in a voice Chiun associates with Shiva. Remo later confronts and kills Joakley; news calls the killer a runaway robot.

  4. Chapter 4

    After learning of Joakley’s death, Remo hears Dr. Gale say Chiun’s body is exceptionally symmetrical but that he appears to be dying without a physical diagnosis. Chiun asks to return to Sinanju.

  5. Chapter 5

    Smith arranges transport for Remo and Chiun, while Ditko consults a North Korean liaison and confirms Sinanju is a restricted fishing village.

  6. Chapter 6

    Aboard the USS Darter, Chiun tells Remo his history and recounts his former pupil Nuihc. Captain Leahy delivers Chiun, Remo, gold and trunks to Sinanju.

  7. Chapter 7

    Ditko carries Kee’s first tape and transcript to the Soviet General Secretary, who directs him to send Kee back to Sinanju for more evidence.

  8. Chapter 8

    Chiun returns to the village and presents Remo as his adopted son. He tells the Great Master Wang prophecy, which Remo’s recent possession-like episode appears to echo.

  9. Chapter 9

    Kee re-enters Sinanju, kills a village boy while taking his dragon costume, then films Chiun’s account to the villagers. Remo reluctantly says he will assume the succession and support the community.

  10. Chapter 10

    Remo meets the veiled Mah-Li and confides in her. Kee follows Remo and is caught with his camera; Remo and Chiun learn of the murdered boy.

  11. Chapter 11

    Ditko enters Sinanju, retrieves Kee’s tape and kills him. The Soviet General Secretary receives a poor transcript and begins to treat the recording as proof of U.S. activity.

  12. Chapter 12

    Remo’s attraction to Mah-Li grows. She tells him of twins Kojing and Kojong and a prophecy that a descendant of Kojong could save the line if no male heir remained.

  13. Chapter 13

    At a secret Helsinki meeting, the Soviet leader demands CURE, Remo and Chiun; the unnamed U.S. President agrees to disband the agency. Smith tells his wife and leaves for Sinanju.

  14. Chapter 14

    Remo rejects Smith’s offer to take him home, and Smith tells Chiun the contract is being transferred to the Soviets. Smith triggers the CURE archive erasure process, though the Folcroft system later comes back online.

  15. Chapter 15

    Chiun accepts Soviet service and dispenses with the Master-investment ceremony for the moment, declaring Remo the “new reigning Master.” Soviet troops attack; Remo surrenders to protect the villagers, Smith rescues him from the firing squad and survives a poison attempt, then sends him toward Moscow.

  16. Chapter 16

    Remo is inserted into Red Square and kills seven militiamen with coins. He creates havoc across Moscow and meets Marshal Steranko, asking for access to Chiun.

  17. Chapter 17

    Remo kills guards and Ditko while looking for Chiun. Chiun forces the General Secretary to destroy the tapes and voids the contract through a nontransferability clause; the Soviet leader arranges their departure.

  18. Chapter 18

    Chiun and Remo return to Sinanju; Remo learns CURE may resume, chooses to stay, and agrees Smith can continue searching for his biological parents. Remo accuses Chiun of staging his dying routine; Chiun scoffs, says “Nonsense,” and deflects without giving a straightforward account. Chiun also says Remo is not yet properly invested and the ceremony must be done correctly, then provides Mah-Li’s dowry.

Other mentions9 names & references

Editions & covers

Edition · cover shown

Hachette UK

2015-05-07

ISBN 9780751559125

Edition details

References & notes

Sources 27 references
  • witness:00000204:ch01:p0082
  • witness:00000204:ch02:p0001
  • witness:00000204:ch08:p0039
  • witness:00000204:ch13:p0030
  • witness:00000204:ch15:p0078
  • witness:00000204:ch01:p0058
  • witness:00000204:ch03:p0151
  • witness:00000204:ch08:p0140
  • witness:00000204:ch10:p0118
  • witness:00000204:ch11:p0036
  • witness:00000204:ch12:p0044
  • witness:00000204:ch13:p0094
  • witness:00000204:ch14:p0087
  • witness:00000204:ch15:p0115
  • witness:00000204:ch16:p0049
  • witness:00000204:ch17:p0097
  • witness:00000204:ch18:p0070
  • witness:00000204:ch18:p0101
  • witness:00000204:ch18:p0112
Edition and source notes

Names are the bibliography’s title-level “written by” attribution key, not a verified edition byline. credited_authors is null because no first-edition cover/title page was checked. A creator name in the general franchise metadata must not be treated as proof of sole drafting.

registration-declared first publication: 1987-09-08. CPRS record field is the registrant/depositor-reported first-publication date, not independent retail/on-sale verification; no print copy inspected. Source

The Eleventh Hour:

Publisher's description: Hachette supplies only its general series overview here; it characterizes the novels as action-led stories mixing comedy and mysticism.

Presidential clues

Current U.S. President: historical identity unresolved.

Unnamed historical President who founded CURE

John F. Kennedy

  • MacCleary says the President creates CURE because existing legal remedies cannot address the crisis; the President gives the agency a five-year mandate and is later assassinated (ch02:p0213–p0215).
  • The narrative does not identify this founder with the later unnamed President who orders disbandment (ch13:p0094).

strong cross-book inference

Book 70 gives no personal name or calendar date, and there is no direct source-to-source identity statement. Book 26 explicitly names John Kennedy as CURE’s founder (witness:00000075:ch01:p0148, p0150), making Kennedy a strong qualified series-context candidate. The hypothesis is not a settled source fact or entity merge.

Unnamed successor President who extended CURE

Unidentified U.S. President succeeding the founder; the source does not identify this person as the present incumbent.

  • MacCleary distinguishes the next President from the assassinated CURE founder and says this successor extended the mandate and authorized a lethal enforcement arm (ch02:p0214–p0216).

none

The source provides no personal name, year, or direct identity link. Keep this narrative officeholder distinct from the other unnamed Presidents. No external historical identification has been made.

Unnamed incumbent U.S. President

Current U.S. head of state in the main events; name, administration, and calendar year are not provided.

  • Accepts a secret Helsinki meeting with the Soviet General Secretary (ch13:p0001–p0008).
  • Agrees to disband CURE after the Soviets present Kee’s recording (ch13:p0056–p0075).
  • Calls Smith to confirm the crisis is over and directs operations to resume (ch18:p0069–p0074).

none

The source provides no personal name, year, or direct identity link. Keep this narrative officeholder distinct from the other unnamed Presidents. No external historical identification has been made.

Unnamed Soviet General Secretary

Mikhail Gorbachev (strong office-and-birthmark allusion; unnamed in Book 70)

  • The General Secretary is described with a high cranial wine-colored birthmark (ch07:p0014).
  • After watching Kee’s tape, his cranial birthmark is livid (ch07:p0021).
  • Receives Ditko’s tape and orders stronger evidence (ch07:p0017–p0028).
  • Meets the U.S. President and states his demand for CURE, Remo, and Chiun (ch13:p0030–p0077).
  • Chiun forces him to destroy the tapes and abandon his claim to the Sinanju contract (ch17:p0076–p0100).

strong historical compatibility; no explicit local identification

The source gives no name or story year. A September 1986 USIA report preserved at the Reagan Library mentions General Secretary Gorbachev’s head birthmark, making the office-plus-mark combination a strong historical allusion. Compatibility does not verify the fictional actions, establish a calendar year, or make his name locally observed. See the batch compatibility note for report provenance and scope.

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