A friend of protagonist Paul Christopher's paternal uncle, Elliott, Sir Richard is seen twice in the novel, first as a dashing young man striking the pose of a junior minister of the Crown and decades later as a reminiscing retiree. At the first meeting with a bereaved Hubbard Christopher in New York's Yale Club library, Sir Richard in typical English style offends, commiserates, and offers a solution, which draws Hubbard into The Outfit. Late in the novel, an aged Sir Richard reappears, helping Paul find in secret British files informtion to make sense of the tragedies that have befallen him and his family.