Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler, is in Paris in September 1938, navigating a city tense with the Czech annexation crisis and the looming specter of war that has scrambled travel routes and left many would‑be travelers stranded. He moves through a landscape of closed borders and worried crowds, trying to figure out how to get back to the United States while the world edges closer to conflict.
During a routine visit to the office of the Prefect of Police J. Romaine, C. Henry Gordon — who is away on business — Chan learns that Petroff, Douglass Dumbrille, a famous and influential millionaire, has been murdered. The case lands on the desk of Police Inspector Marcel Spivak, Harold Huber, a nervous, self‑conscious man who is terrified of handling a case this high profile. He asks Chan to lend his keen eye and seasoned patience to the investigation, setting the stage for a careful, layered pursuit of truth.
Spivak’s initial suspect is Antoine, the loyal butler, Pedro de Cordoba, a theory quickly complicated when Charlotte Ronnell, Dorothy Tree, is spotted fleeing the Petroff residence. A chance encounter later reveals that Marie Dubon, Lynn Bari, a local woman with a shadowy connection to Petroff’s circle, is deeply involved in the events surrounding the crime. Chan and Marie, drawn together by circumstance, head to her hotel, where Chan uncovers that Marie had been aiding her husband, Tony Madero, Richard Clarke, in clearing his name after Petroff accused him of smuggling.
A crucial lead comes from a clue in Marie’s room, steering Chan toward Louis Santelle, Leo G. Carroll, a counterfeiter with a dangerous edge. The investigation loops back to Petroff’s house, where Chan and Spivak narrowly avoid danger as they track down the burglars Lola, Barbara Leonard, and Max, Louis Mercier, along with Alex, George Davis, who had broken in just before the murder. Their inquiries also bring in Petroff’s business partner, Belescu, Noel Madison, whose involvement deepens the mystery.
Three clues crystallize the case for Chan: a dropped franc coin, a wooden leg, and a telephone left off the hook. When Belescu is shot, the trail shifts to a final confrontation as Chan and Spivak chase Charlotte Ronnell to Le Bourget Airport, where her plane crashes during takeoff and she dies. Back at headquarters, Chan reveals that Antoine, a French patriot, killed Petroff after returning home early and discovering that Petroff was selling arms to Nazi Germany. Prefect Romaine notes that Antoine will likely stand trial, but may be awarded the Legion of Honour instead of the guillotine, underscoring the era’s tangled loyalties and the uneasy balance between justice and national gratitude.
