The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon Summary | Spade & Archer Summary

The Maltese Falcon is the story of detective Sam Spade and the case of a valuable iconic treasure. The quest for this treasure engenders greed, lust and betrayal in 1929's San Francisco.

As the novel begins, private detective Sam Spade's secretary, Effie Perine, announces the arrival of a woman named Miss Wonderly who has come to enlist Spade's services. Spade cannot help but notice how attractive Miss Wonderly is and tries to put the nervous young woman at ease as he listens to her problem.

Miss Wonderly's sister, Corinne, left home in New York to come to San Francisco with a man named Floyd Thursby. The Wonderlys' parents will return from Europe in three weeks, and Miss Wonderly needs to find Corinne and convince her to return to New York before then.

Corinne sent Miss Wonderly a letter announcing what she did but has left no address or any other contact information except a General Address post box in San Francisco. Miss Wonderly waited at the post office for hours but did not see Corinne, only Floyd Thursby, who would not reveal Corinne's location. Floyd has agreed to bring Corinne to Miss Wonderly's hotel this evening and will come alone if Corinne refuses to come.

Spade and Miss Wonderly are interrupted by Miles Archer, Spade's partner, who listens to Spade relate the reason for Miss Wonderly's visit. Spade and Archer determine that Archer will follow Floyd after he meets Miss Wonderly at the hotel this evening. Miss Wonderly pays the men two hundred dollars extra because of the element of violence surrounding Floyd and leaves the office.