Charlie Chan in Panama

In this mystery set against World War II, Chan poses as a U.S. government employee to foil a sabotage plot aimed at the Panama Canal, through which a Navy fleet would be trapped on it's way to maneuvers in the Pacific. Chan weeds out a man who plans to destroy the Canal with the help of his Number Two Son, Jimmy, with whom Chan is constantly frustrated: Man without relatives is a man without problems, Chan says wryly.