Lovecraft Country

Atticus, George, Hippolyta, Horace, Letitia, Montrose, Pirate Joe, Abdullah, Mortimer, and a man named Quincy Brown meet at the Freemasons temple. Quincy is the lodge door-warden, and he holds a sword and pistol as he welcomes the others into the building. The characters take turns explaining the events of the past year. One-by-one, they talk about how they became embroiled in the schemes involving the Braithwhites. They conclude that Caleb is “going to war” (290) against Lancaster and he wants their help. Ruby arrives with Caleb’s instructions, as well as a heavily modified version of her own story. After she explains his plan to kill Lancaster, however, she tells the others that they cannot trust Caleb. They all agree to “get rid of him, too” (292). The characters seek advice from the ghost of Hiram Winthrop on how to remove the protective mark of Cain from Caleb’s body. They offer Winthrop his stolen books and news of his dead son in exchange for the advice.

The next night, Caleb collects Atticus. They drive to Lancaster’s country club, past the members-only sign at the gate. They encounter Lancaster’s detectives, who roughly frisk them before allowing them up to the main building. The detectives’ suspicious are aroused by Caleb and Atticus, so more men are summoned to the country club.

Hippolyta and Hillary make their way through the dark woods toward a small outbuilding which controls the power and utilities of the country club. Hippolyta does not know Hillary’s real identity and wishes that Letitia or Ruby were with her. Hillary comes up with a plan to distract the guards before they can raise the alarm. Meanwhile, Letitia sneaks out of a hidden compartment in Caleb’s car. She has been given a magic wand by Caleb and uses it to knock out the detective guarding the main building. The other detective leads Atticus and Caleb to the meeting with Lancaster. Caleb and Lancaster have a heated discussion, accusing one another of underhand behavior.

Outside, Letitia continues to knock out guards with the magic wand. Her efforts allow Montrose and George to drive up to the main building in a van containing the other characters. Elsewhere, Hillary feigns distress to distract the guards in the outbuilding. Hippolyta prepares to cut the electricity. However, she demands that Hillary handcuff herself up alongside the guards. Hippolyta does not trust Hillary, though Hillary agrees with Hippolyta’s demands. Pirate Joe, Mortimer, and Abdullah sneak through the country club kitchen carrying a large, flat object wrapped in furniture pads. Letitia accompanies them, knocking any guards unconscious with her wand. They reach the ballroom, locate a hidden safe, and begin to unwrap their mysterious object.

Lancaster and Caleb continue to exchange barbed comments. Lancaster reveals his knowledge of a special spell which insures loyalty. He plans to use it on Caleb and, on his signal, the room fills up with Order members. At the same time, George and Montrose climb on to the roof toward a specific location. Inside the building, Lancaster decides to try his new spell on Caleb. Just as Lancaster draws close, Caleb emits a piercing whistle. Above, Montrose drops a bottle filled with magical liquid down the chimney onto the fire. The room fills with smoke. At that same moment, Hippolyta cuts the electricity. Atticus, blinded by the smoke, prepares to fight his way across the room to freedom.

Hippolyta emerges from the outbuilding and is knocked out by one of the detectives. Hillary intervenes and shoots the man with a pistol, having freed herself with a spare handcuff key. Hillary asks Hippolyta to tell Caleb that she quits and then runs away into the night. In the country club, Atticus and Caleb emerge unscathed from the smoke-filled room. Caleb temporarily locks the door, so the two men run. As they run, they hear Lancaster blow the door off its hinges behind them. He stands in the hallway, flanked by one of his loyal men and the remaining lodge members. Lancaster chases after the sound of footsteps until he reaches the ballroom. Inside, Caleb and Atticus are opening the hidden safe. As Lancaster moves to attack, Mortimer bursts from his hiding place and draws magical symbols on the floor in chalk. Abdullah and Pirate Joe switch on the large electric lanterns they snuck into the country club. Lancaster and his men are trapped in a magical circle. Caleb moves to cast a spell and finish the plan, but Atticus insists on taking over, claiming to want revenge for Lancaster’s attack on Horace. Caleb is suspicious but allows Atticus to proceed with the spell.

Atticus speaks in the language of Adam, summoning a shadow which swallows Lancaster and his men, then opens the safe. As Caleb approaches the safe and tries to take the Book of Names, Atticus rips away his sleeve to reveal his own mark of Cain. Atticus breaks Caleb’s protective spell and replaces it with a new one. The other characters appear. Caleb is incensed and insists that he cannot be killed. Atticus informs Caleb that they do not plan to kill him, only to kick him out.

The characters clean the country club before they leave. They pack Caleb, the remaining detective, and the guards into a car and take them across state lines to Indiana. They give the men a map and explain that they avoid any of the areas marked in red, such as “Detroit or Philadelphia or Harlem” (308). Caleb is furious. He insists that they cannot do this to him. Atticus explains that the new mark of Cain he imposed on Caleb not only bans him from physical locations but also expels him from the Order. As such, all of Caleb’s powers are gone. Caleb begs for mercy and then threatens them, insisting that they will never be safe. The characters laugh at him and point out that they live in a country where their race practically ensures that they can never feel truly safe. They drive away and leave Caleb behind.