The year is 1940 and tension is growing between the empires of United Europe and the Atlantic States. A bloody border incident puts both sides on high alert.
Conniving con artist Mrs Oliver targets the family of Mrs Carruthers, seducing her husband and framing her son for the theft of a valuable necklace. With her family facing ruin and disgrace, Mrs Carruthers resorts to increasingly violent measures to protect them.
A desperate, but highly respectable schoolmaster collapses at Holmes' door. His prize pupil, the son of a wealthy duke, has vanished, seemingly without a trace. And, why is Holmes getting such poor cooperation in his investigation?