January 1888: Dr. John H. Watson has returned to 221b Baker Street, just weeks after a personal tragedy has left him bereaved and bereft. Feeling like a broken man, his plans and dreams lying in ruin, he slowly tries to make his way forward, with the help of Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Hudson. Unexpectedly, he finds himself standing in the path of a madman - who suddenly and irrationally blames Watson for his apparent defeat.
Meanwhile, Holmes has tried to distract his grief-stricken friend by telling stories of his past cases, including how, a decade before, he recovered a mysterious relic - The Eye of Heka - stolen from the British Museum. But Holmes''s plan to show Watson this unique and ancient idol goes suddenly and terribly wrong as both are swept into a series of events, one tumbling rapidly upon another, that lead to thefts, murders, and possibly a war that might quickly escalate to draw in nations from most of the world. And always there is the madman in the s
