The private detective Philip Marlowe enters the Sternwood mansion in Los Angeles at 11:00 on a morning in mid October. Marlowe is unusually clean and well dressed for the occasion of meeting General Sternwood, an old oil baron, for a commission. Contrasting with the luxury of the mansion and Marlowe's refined appearance is the weather outside, which is overcast and threatening rain. Marlowe takes notice of many elements of the mansion's décor, including a stained-glass panel of a knight rescuing a naked woman who is tied to a tree. Among a number of other fineries that point to the Sternwood's wealth, Marlowe also notices a large oil portrait of a general with "hot black eyes."
As the detective continues his catalog of the items in the house, a small, pretty, young woman—somewhere in her early twenties—appears. She is highly flirtatious with Marlowe, who introduces himself by the name of "Doghouse Reilly." The girl, who we later find out is Carmen Sternwood, the youngest of the General's daughters, has a habit of biting her thumb and giggling. Carmen throws herself back into Marlowe's arms and says, "You're cute…"—a line she repeats throughout the novel from her lips.