Biggers third book in the Charlie Chan series involves the detective in a case that spans decades and continents, culminating in the city of San Francisco. This time Charlie pulls aside the curtain that conceals a mystery far in the past.
The plot links a present day murder with another murder some year previously, combined with a series of disappearances of young women. Once again hes kept from leaving by a case: the murder of Sir Frederick Bruce, ex-head of the Criminal Investigation Unit at Scotland Yard.