Charlie Chan, the famous Chinese detective from Honolulu, Hawaii (USA) is in San Francisco, California (USA), at the tail
end of a vacation. An eager young reporter determines that he should get Inspector Chan of the Honolulu Police Department and Sir Frederic Bruce together to discuss crime. Sir Bruce has recently retired from his position as head of the Criminal Investigation Division of
Scotland Yard. A couple of cases have fascinated him for years: one, the death of a solicitor in England, found in his office with no one about; and another, the
disappearance into thin air, so to speak, of a young army wife in Peshawar, India (at that time a province of the British Empire), some fifteen years earlier. When the stories are hushed up, it becomes apparent that Sir Bruce is still on the trail. At dinner that evening, Sir John Beetham, a famous explorer, is to show films of his explorations of Tibet. While this is going on, there is an apparent burglary, and Sir Bruce is found dead from a gunshot wound. He has grabbed a directory of the Cosmopolitan Club as he died, perhaps to leave a clue as to his murderer's identity. Sir Bruce's files and papers are missing. Meanwhile, a romance comes into being between Barry Kirk (their host), and the young District Attorney's assistant, at least on his part. And Charlie Chan cannot resist solving the mystery, although it delays his return home on the steamship to Honolulu, to see his newborn (11th) son.
This is an intriguing mystery, puzzling from beginning to end, as Inspector Chan complains repeatedly of his "postman's holiday." It is full of twists and turns and has completely surprising conclusions along the way.