One evening in Paris, during the autumn of 1845, I went to visit a friend, Auguste Dupin. We were smoking our pipes and talking when the door of his apartment opened. Mr. Germont, the head of the Paris police force, came into the room. «I came to ask your advice,» Germont said to my friend Dupin. «I am trying to solve a very important case. It is also a very simple case, so I really need your help. But I thought you would like to hear about it, because it is so strange. My men and I have worked on this case for three months,» Germont said. «It is a very simple case of robbery. But we still cannot solve it.» Dupin took the pipe out of his mouth. «Perhaps the mystery is too simple,» he said. Germont began to laugh. «Too simple?» he said. «Who ever heard of such a thing?» I looked at Germont. «Why don't you tell us the problem?» I said. Germont stopped laughing and sat down. «All right,» he said. «But you must never tell anyone I told you this. The wife of a very important person needs help. I cannot tell you her name, because her husband is a powerful man in the French government. Let us just call her Madame X. Three months ago, someone stole a letter from Madame X. She is offering a large amount of money to anyone who can return the letter to her.»