The Orphanage by the Lake

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.

Private investigator Hazel Cho wakes up in her Chinatown apartment in New York City and gets ready to go to her nearby office to meet a client. Her roommate, Kenny Shum, who is training to be a New York City Police Department officer, wishes her good morning. They talk about the upcoming police exam for which he is studying. Hazel offers to help him study that evening, and he agrees to make her a traditional Korean dinner, bibimbap, in exchange.

Hazel walks to her office on Cortlandt Alley where her client, Gene Strauss, is waiting. She invites him in and shows him the results of her investigation into his wife, Emily Strauss. She confirms that his wife is having an affair. When Hazel shows Strauss the photographs, he flies into a rage and accuses Hazel of falsifying the evidence. He demands his deposit back.

While they argue, an elegant, rich, white, blond woman walks in and introduces herself as Madeline Hemsley. Strauss is taken aback at the interruption. He tells Hazel, “This isn’t over” (14) and storms out.