Agoraphobic chess champion, Arkady Balagan, is on the verge of eviction from the luxury hotel he calls home when the hotel's bartender, Danni, enlists his help to find a missing boy. One of the boy's distraught fathers is willing to pay for Balagan's insights. Unable to leave the hotel, Balagan seeks the help of his number-one fan, grad-student and amateur chess player, Sam, and his savvy chambermaid, Alcina, to help him solve the mystery. Was the boy taken by one of his feuding fathers or was there a more sinister motive for the abduction? He is working against the clock to find the missing boy and collect his payment before he is forced out of the hotel. Meanwhile, Pippa, the sister of Balagan's murdered fiancée, Rosemary, attempts to draw him into investigating her murder. Still grieving, Balagan finds it too painful to pursue. Written by Anonymous

When Balagan learns that the hotel's head of security, Hugo Lum, was robbed at gunpoint during his secret high-stakes poker game, he sees an opportunity to earn a finder's fee. Wary of the crafty Russian, Hugo agrees to Balagan's terms but that means putting up with the chess master's arrogance. Balagan deduces the robber was a former hotel employee and follows his trail to the money, but was he working alone, or did the thief have a partner? With all the poker players accusing each other, Balagan uses their greed against them to get the money into the hands of a more deserving party. Balagan divides his attention between the robbery and new evidence in Rosemary's murder case that suggests he might have been the intended target in the shooting. Written by Anonymous

A well-dressed man wakes up on the sidewalk with no shoes, no wallet, and no memory. The only thing in his pocket is a receipt that leads him to the Huxley Hotel. Remembering nothing but how much he loves his wife, the man hires Balagan to find her and to help him rediscover his identity. While uncovering the truth of the amnesiac's complicated life, Balagan battles with Pippa over the investigation into Rosemary's murder. Written by Anonymous

Swallowing his pride, Hugo asks Balagan for help. Walt, Hugo's police mentor, is retiring, but one unsolved case still haunts him. Twenty years ago, a teen girl disappeared and Walt is convinced her ex-boyfriend, Stephen, killed her. But because the girl's body was never found, Walt could never charge Stephen. Now with Balagan's help, Hugo hopes to find the one piece of evidence that will put Stephen behind bars before Walt takes matters into his own hands. Pippa comes to Balagan with some startling news in Rosemary's case: the police have finally arrested a suspect. Written by Anonymous

Balagan's on edge when the hotel hosts the International Psychiatric Conference and every shrink is vying to cure his agoraphobia. But Balagan can't avoid the psychiatrists forever. When a woman's body is found in the hotel pool, the police arrest the most likely suspect. However, the strange Dr Grey confesses to Balagan that he, in fact, killed her. Dr Grey offers to treat Balagan in exchange for clues to help Balagan prove he did it. Through this eerie game, Balagan must uncover the truth in time to stop Dr Grey from killing again - this time closer to home. Written by Anonymous

When an innocent family's car explodes in front of their east side house, the parents seek Balagan's help to find out why they were targeted. Balagan identifies with their son, Colin, a teen too afraid to leave his house since the bombing. With Danni, Sam, and Alcina's help, Balagan discovers the family is keeping a few secrets. But Balagan is distracted by the arrival of reigning world chess champion, 16 year old, Jonas Etkin. And while Balagan plays an off the record match with Jonas, a second car bomb explodes at the same address on the west side of town. Balagan must use chess strategy to find the connection between the two addresses and stop the bombers before someone gets killed. Meanwhile, Pippa struggles with what she learns from Rosemary's autopsy report. Written by Anonymous

When Jia, a Chinese cryptologist, and her friend, Sophie, a journalist, come to Balagan for help in finding Jia's missing suitcase, he declines, bored by lost luggage. But Sam, who has fallen head over heels for Jia, convinces him to take the puzzle. Balagan deduces that Sophie has a scoop and Jia is her anonymous source. If Jia doesn't get her suitcase back before she's discovered as a whistle-blower, her life will be in danger. While Sam and Jia spark a romance, Balagan resists Sophie's advances, the pain of losing Rosemary still too fresh. Just as Balagan thinks he has retrieved Jia's suitcase, he realizes there are more players in the game than at first he thought. Written by Anonymous

At the threat of being thrown out of the hotel, Balagan is forced to help Vivian Huxley, heiress of the Huxley hotel chain, find her missing son, Kitch. It turns out Kitch's parents don't know him as well as they think - nor does he know them as well as he thinks. With the clock ticking, Balagan discovers more than just the whereabouts of Kitch: he uncovers a far more interesting puzzle of past affairs and infidelities. Written by Anonymous

When Balagan's oldest friend, the larger than life Russian cosmonaut Oleg Olesky, comes to the Huxley, he brings more than the party. About to pilot the first private space tourism rocket ship, Oleg is there with Chase Galactic as they announce their maiden launch. When the head engineer, Randall, falls from the roof of the hotel, Oleg is the prime suspect. With his only alibi being the fact he was with his boss's wife, which she denies, Oleg pleads for Balagan's help. Balagan eventually figures out the true motive for Randall's murder - and the real murderer. Written by Anonymous

As a negotiation ploy, the Huxley locks its workers out. But the plan goes awry when the hotel vault is robbed. Balagan loses Rosemary's engagement ring and a lavish Indian wedding celebration is ruined. Discovering the video surveillance in the hotel had been tampered with, allowing the thieves a 15-minute window to get in and out, Hugo is convinced it was a team of professionals. Balagan systematically eliminates suspects while gaining clues as to the true thief's identity. The resulting conclusion seems impossible - until Balagan figures out the final piece of the puzzle. Written by Anonymous

A seemingly normal day for Balagan quickly turns deadly. After logging into an internet chess game, he discovers his opponent, Mr Black, has taken hostages and will kill one for every game Balagan loses. When the police try to intervene, Balagan's clock runs out - with disastrous results. Balagan realizes he will have to work alone. He figures out who his mysterious opponent is, where he lives, and why he is doing this. Turns out, Mr Black is not mad. He has a reason and a purpose for doing what he is doing. So, now, how to stop him? Written by Anonymous

When a rock star moves into the next hotel suite, Balagan has more to cope with than loud music and obnoxious behaviour . Deacon, the Demon Spawn, hires Balagan to find two hundred thousand dollars stolen from him. Balagan uncovers a strange story of a midnight robbery, a kidnapped grandmother, an estranged husband, an ancient debt, and a missing polar bear. Balagan calls in his IOU with Hugo and manages to convince everyone they have what they want. Written by Anonymous

A hotel security guard dies under mysterious circumstances. Was it an accident or was it murder? When Balagan tries to figure out who would want to kill the guard, he discovers there is much more to the seemingly simple hotel employee than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, Pippa is convinced she knows who killed her sister, Rosemary - it was a powerful lawyer named Sebastian Wilks. Wilks decides to put an end to her investigations - by introducing Balagan to his worst nightmare. Written by Anonymous