At a book signing, Renalta Van Markoff—author of a controversial Sherlock Holmes mystery series—is confronted by dedicated Sherlockian Donald Morris. After a heated argument, Renalta collapses on the table, dead. Guessing that this isn't an open-and-shut case, Morris's friends Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson set out on their second investigation (after Elementary, She Read) to sift a motley assortment of suspects that includes the author's bullied personal assistant, her frustrated publicist, a handsome rare book dealer, an obsessive fan, and a world of old-school Sherlock enthusiasts.