 He is the trusted right-hand-man of George Smiley, the protagonist of many of le Carre's novels, and is often the person Smiley turns to for assistance when he fears he cannot trust his peers or subordinates.Guillam is half-French and half-English, and comes from a family that has worked for The Circus (le Carre's name for MI6) for generations.Although "Call for the Dead" indicates that he served in World War II, the later books in the series indicate that he was born around 1933.