He is initially to share a cabin with Hector MacQueen, the assistant to American businessman, Edward Ratchett. Poirot's last minute change of plan is as he is notified of a case for which he has to return to London immediately. The securing of the cabin is a favor from his friend Bouc, who works for the railroad, he the nephew of one of the railroad's executives. Eccentric yet famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, in the Middle East on a part business, part pleasure trip, is able to secure passage at the last minute in First Class on the Orient Express from Istanbul to Paris, despite First Class being sold out, odd for this time of year. An avalanche derails the train's engine, stranding the passengers. That night, Poirot hears strange noises coming from Ratchett's compartment, and later sees someone in a red kimono running down the hallway. Unscrupulous businessman Edward Ratchett offers to hire Poirot as his bodyguard during the three-day journey, having received threatening letters from an unknown party, but Poirot refuses. His friend Bouc, nephew of the director of the Simplon-route Orient Express service, arranges a bunk for him aboard the train. The obsessive-compulsive sleuth, who seeks balance in life, and considers his case-solving ability to see a lie amidst truth to be a curse, wants to rest in Istanbul, but must return to London for another case. In 1934, famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solves a theft at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.