McClure's Magazine serialized Kim from December 1900 to October 1901, Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and Macmillan & Co. Ltd. published it as a book in October 1901. The narrative effectively illustrates Indian people, culture, and beliefs. "The book presents a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, and superstitions, as well as the life of the bazaars and the road." Russia and Britain's Central Asian political struggle, the Great Game, occurred between 1893 and 1898, before the 1919 Third Afghan War.

Kimball O'Hara Sr., a former color sergeant, and his mother, a colonel's nanny, died in poverty, leaving Kim an orphan. Kim begs and does errands in Lahore as a vagabond during British rule in the late 19th century. Due to his tan and knowledge of local culture, Kim's whiteness is hardly noticeable. Kim meets an elderly Tibetan monk searching for the "River of the Arrow" to escape the Wheel of Things. Kim walks with him on the Grand Trunk Road as his chela. Mahbub Ali hires Kim after she discovers the Great Game to deliver a message to the British Secret Service chief in Umballa.