The four chapters he had completed, which bore the working title The Poodle Springs Story, were subsequently published in Raymond Chandler Speaking (1962), a collection of excerpts from letters and unpublished writings.

Tension between them rises when, as a result, Marlowe absents himself from the cocktail parties and other social events organised by Linda’s set.

Marlowe’s first case comes when he is forced by hoodlums to visit a local criminal named Lipschultz, who operates an illegal gambling house in Riverside, just outside the jurisdiction of Poodle Springs.

Lipshultz's boss, an unrevealed local tycoon, has found out that the sum is missing from the books and has issued a 30-day ultimatum to retrieve the money.

The melodramatic pay-off exposes the corruption of the Southern Californian rich and confirms Marlowe in his decision to return to Los Angeles.