Sadie Thompson
The building was subsequently the setting of his short story "Rain", published in 1921, which depicted a psychological battle of wits between a wayward, on-the-run prostitute, Sadie Thompson, and a conservative, self-righteous missionary. Although conclusive evidence is lacking, Maugham, apparently, was indeed in residence at the lodging house with a real person named Sadie Thompson, who reportedly had been driven from a red light district in Honolulu.