This Hercule Poirot mystery takes place on the elegant and plush Orient Express. The train is unusually crowded, traveling from Istanbul to Paris. Ratchett, a pushy, imperious millionaire, confronts Inspector Hercule Poirot and demands that the little Belgian take a case: protection. "I have an enemy," Ratchett says, and offers Poirot $20,000 if he will help him stay alive. Poirot declines because he can afford to, and because "I do not like your face, Monsieur." Later that night, as the train sits halted and snowbound, Ratchett is murdered-- killed in a room locked from the inside. Poirot takes the case this time. It turns out that Ratchett, a gangster, a killer, kidnapper, and child abuser, died of multiple stab wounds. Clearly, this clever, ruthless killer is still on board. Thirteen people on board knew the dead man. Each has a secret. Each had a reason to kill Ratchett, and each is a suspect in this murder. Can Poirot solve this baffling crime, find the person responsible, by the time the train reaches Paris?