The reading of a will is delayed so that the sole heir to a huge fortune, Allan Coleby, can attend. Coleby is aboard an ocean liner that sinks off the coast of Honolulu, and is presumed drowned. Is he? When Charlie Chan flies to San Francisco to investigate, he finds Coleby alive, but not for long. The heir is soon found stabbed in the back with a knife! Chan arrives at the family mansion to question the suspects, including dowager spiritualist Henrietta Lowell, whom Chan must protect from harm. Will Chan find the killer in time?