Layer Cake is the debut novel of British author J. J. Connolly, first published in 2000 by Duckworth Press. It was made into a motion picture in 2004 (also called Layer Cake), directed by Matthew Vaughn and written for the screen by Connolly himself.
Plot introduction
The book takes place in London in the 1990s and is narrated by an unnamed, 29-year-old drug dealer ("If you knew my name, you'd be as clever as me") who plans on leaving the life of crime behind at the age of thirty to live life as "a gentleman of leisure." His retirement plan is complicated by a large shipment of stolen ecstasy, the German neo-Nazis who want the drugs back and revenge on anyone they hold responsible for the theft, the unpredictable and often outrageous personalities of his friends, and his boss, kingpin Jimmy Price, who charges him with the task of recovering the missing daughter of a wealthy socialite.
Plot summary
On April Fools' Day in 1997, the narrator, and his pal Mister Mortimer are waiting impatiently to sell a half-kilo of cocaine to a less-than-punctual pal, Jeremy. Until Jeremy arrives, readers are introduced to various characters and are given a brief look into their histories, including Jimmy Price; Mister Mortimer (Morty), who served five and a quarter years of an eight-year sentence for being caught while disposing of suicide victim Kilburn Jerry after a party; young Clarkie, whom the narrator expects to take his place when he retires; and Terry, friend to all. The narrator also explains to the readers how he made it to where he is—starting small, growing in rank, keeping quiet and making sure everything is strictly business. Jeremy eventually arrives half an hour late to make the purchase.
Narrator is invited to Mortimer's porn shop, Loveland, and interrupts an argument between Mort and an employee, Nobby, who is confused on what to do over a shipment from the Netherlands of low-quality sex gear that they did not order. They decide to send it back. Mort then drives the narrator to a fancy, out-of-the-way restaurant called Pepi's Barn, the haunt of "don" Jimmy Price, who has demanded to meet with him. Here the reader is introduced to Jimmy's right-hand man Gene, a loyal gundog to boot. The purpose of the dinner, as it turns out, is the disappearance of a young girl name of Charlotte Temple. Charlotte (aka Charlie) is the daughter of Edward Temple, a wealthy business contractor and socialite whom Price has known since childhood. She has run away with her new boyfriend, a cokehead by the name of Trevor Atkins, alias Kinky. Price charges the narrator with the task of locating Charlotte as a favour to Jimmy's pal, and promises that if he is successful, Price will allow him to retire without fuss.
Price also tells the narrator about a crew of gangsters who have recently acquired two million high quality Ecstasy pills from Amsterdam. Price tasks the narrator with finding a buyer for the pills, and quickly. During the meeting with the gangsters, collectively known as the "Yahoos," the narrator finds that he cannot reason with them, and he leaves upon promising to find a buyer for the pills, albeit at a much lower price than if the Yahoos would consent to releasing the pills in small instalments. The narrator tells the Yahoos that the pills are worth much less than they believe, which they are not happy to hear.
The narrator tasks his old friend Cody, also known as Billy Bogus and his partner Tiptoes with locating Charlie. Cody expects little difficulty and quickly accepts the job. While looking for Cody in a London club, the narrator encounters Sydney, a low-ranking member of the Yahoos. The narrator then meets Sydney's girlfriend Tammy, to whom he is immediately attracted. Before leaving the club, Tammy gives him her number and surreptitiously asks him to call her. While speaking with Sydney, the narrator hears a story about the leader of Sydney's crew, a man named Darren who prefers to be known as The Duke. The Duke and his girlfriend, Slasher, are a pair of dedicated coke addicts who live just outside London. The pair of them have become steadily more paranoid due to their cocaine use, and this paranoia leads Slasher to attack a member of the local council with pepper spray when he visits their home. Slasher also manages to kill one of the Duke's prized Dobermans, Mike Tyson, by shooting it. Sydney thinks the story is hilarious, but the narrator panics upon realising that the Duke probably had his number along with Mister Mortimer's, and the police could very well have information on them now.