It is summer in 1890, in Robertsbridge, a small village in East Sussex. Dr Watson, on holiday without Holmes, finds the village peaceful and sleepy, but the truth is different. He soon discovers that the villagers are afraid, the atmosphere is threatening. Why do three mysterious white monks haunt the ruined abbey? What does the gipsy seek? Where is a missing ten-year-old boy? Watson calls for Holmes, but why is Holmes fearful of endangering lives? We read in this exciting story how Holmes' patient deduction and Watson's courage come together, to solve a many-sided mystery just before it turns into disaster.