Chapters One - Two Summary

The discovery of the body of a woman in Little Fawn Lake at first seems unrelated to Philip Marlowe's search for the wife of perfume tycoon Derace Kingsley. However, as the plot progresses in the novel The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler, this gruesome discovery soon helps Marlowe solve a chain of seemingly unrelated murders. Not only does Marlowe solve these murders, he also uncovers a dirty police officer and the woman the officer has been trying to protect.

In chapter one, Philip Marlowe attempts to meet with Derace Kingsley in his business office. After verbal combat with Adrienne Fromsett, Kingsley's personal secretary, Marlowe is finally allowed to wait to see if Kingsley will meet with him. When Kingsley's meeting is finished, Mrs. Fromsett announces Marlowe's presence, but Kingsley doesn't seem interested. About ten minutes...