Earl Biggers was the creator of the Chinese detective Charlie Chan. Biggers was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring Charlie Chan. The Agony Column was published in 1916. It was also published under the title Second Floor Mystery. The London Times had a second column called the Agony Column. This was similar to the personals in today's newspapers. Geoffrey West is an American in London. He is reading the Agony Column when a beautiful American girl sits near him reading the paper to her father. Geoffrey is able to write the girl 7 letters in the hope of proving he an interesting person. By the second letter he is embroiled in a mystery which becomes the subject of the remaining letters.