Charlie Chan in Reno 1939

Mary Whitman travels to Reno with the aim of securing a divorce, only to find herself arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow hotel guest who caters to other divorcees. The case unsettles the quiet casino-hotel world they’ve all checked into, and the suspicious atmosphere thickens as more guests reveal their own motives for wanting the victim gone.

To crack the mystery, Reno summons the famed detective Charlie Chan, who arrives at the request of Mary’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, Curtis Whitman. Chan teams up with the local authority, a veteran but old-fashioned Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher, played with a wry patience by Slim Summerville. The two men clash and charm in turn as they pool their resources, trying to navigate a case where modern police methods aren’t yet the norm and every guest seems to carry a hidden secret.

The investigation gets a twist when Jimmy Chan, Chan’s No. 2 son, heads to Reno and experiences a comic yet troubling detour. En route to meet his father, he encounters a group of hitch-hikers who turn out to be less friendly than they appear: they steal his car, strip him to his underwear, and abandon him in the desert. He ends up in a police lineup, a sight that brings a personal, human edge to the case and tests the patience and pride of the Chan family.

A breakthrough comes through the hotel’s Chinese maid, Choy Wong, who forms an unlikely link between the room where the murder took place and the killer’s method. She had once hidden a carpet burn in the murder room, fearing she would be discharged for carelessness, but that burn proves to be more telling than anyone expected: it’s an acid burn, a clue that pierces through assumptions about who could be capable of the crime. Chan identifies the crucial detail—the arm bearing the acid burn, concealed by long sleeves—exposing the murderer’s plan and unraveling the truth behind the murder.

As the threads converge, Chan also shines a light on Dr. Ainsley, a respectable-seeming physician who had been pursuing a fortune through inheritance by harming a patient. The doctor’s calculated motive and the pattern of evidence align to reveal the sinister underbelly beneath an outwardly respectable facade.

In the end, the case comes into focus as Chan pieces together the clues—drama, deception, and a dash of humor—demonstrating how appearances can be deceiving and how patience, observation, and a few well-timed disclosures can bring a killer to justice. The Reno mystery resolves with clarity, leaving the guests and investigators to reflect on the fragile line between trust and peril in a city built on risk and reinvention.