The Man in the High Castle Summary

In an alternate 1960s America, following a World War II where the Axis powers were victorious, Germany and Japan have taken over the coasts and are secretly plotting against each other. Germany aims to decimate Japan using nuclear weaponry and conquer space, whereas Japan seeks power by gaining knowledge about German plastic materials that are propelling their lead in the space race. Robert Childan, a white American, owns a shop that caters to the wealthy Japanese clientele who are now captivated by the indigenous artifacts of the country they’ve conquered. He is irked by his diminished social status and by Nobusuke Tagomi, a prominent patron who constantly mispronounces his name. However, his patience is rewarded when the Kasouras, a young Japanese couple, praise his collection and invite him to their residence.

Meanwhile, Frank Frink, a Jewish factory employee, has recently lost his job. His ethnicity limits his options - if he ventures east, he’ll be handed over to the Germans and likely killed. Ed McCarthy, his colleague, encourages him to start a business in jewelry-making utilizing his factory skills. Frank is still haunted by the absence of his ex-wife, Juliana, who has relocated to the Rocky Mountain states in search of a better life. Juliana, now a judo instructor, starts a relationship with an Italian truck driver, Joe Cinnadella, who purports to be a war veteran. She becomes engrossed with a novel titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which narrates a parallel history where the Allied powers emerged victorious.

In the book, Nobusuke Tagomi is not only a customer of Childan but also a senior Japanese trade official. He hopes to acquire intelligence on Germany’s special plastics from Baynes, a supposed Swedish businessman. However, Baynes is revealed to be a German defector named Rudolf Wegener, who is warning the Japanese about Germany’s plans to obliterate their homeland using nuclear weapons. Amidst these turbulent times, Juliana discovers that Joe's inconsistent stories and peculiar behaviors point to him being an assassin sent by the Germans. After killing Joe, she rushes to warn the author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy about the imminent threat from the Germans. In the book's climax, Juliana confronts the author, forcing him to reveal that he authored the book with guidance from the I Ching, a form of divination used by several characters throughout the story. When asked why the I Ching wrote the book, it cryptically replies, “Inner Truth.”