Trama

A headstrong but titled suffragette slips into the power of a murderous con artist.

While on holiday in the Lake District, Dr. Watson finds himself staying in the same hotel as Lady Frances Carfax, an unmarried and independent-minded woman. Dr. Watson overhears Lady Frances quarrel with her brother, the Earl of Rufton, about money, and observes a bearded man apparently stalking her. Dr. Watson concludes that Lady Frances and the bearded man know one other and that Lady Frances is frightened of him. Dr. Watson recounts these events in a letter to Holmes, who upon reading it immediately decides that the woman is in imminent danger and sets out to join Dr. Watson. By the time Holmes arrives, Lady Frances has disappeared.—garykmcd

Dr Watson is holidaying in the Lake District. A notable personality at the hotel is Lady Frances Carfax, an independent-minded, bohemian single woman. She appears to be being harassed by a mysterious bearded man. After one of his appearances she disappears. Holmes now joins his friend to investigate.—grantss

Dr Watson (Edward Hardwicke) is holidaying in Switzerland when he meets Lady Frances Carfax (Cheryl Campbell). Holmes (Jeremy Brett) is busy in London. Lady Frances is a lone, unwed woman denied a rich inheritance on account of her sex (her brother refuses to support any of her philanthropic causes by refusing her any access to her father's money). Watson writes to Holmes that Lady Frances stayed at the Hôtel International for several weeks, but then suddenly left in a hurry one day. He witnessed a big, bearded man who kept hounding her. Lady Frances had also met a couple named Schlessinger (Julian Curry), a missionary from South America, and an invalid. Schlessinger had saved Lady Frances from drowning in a lake, when she fell from her sailing boat & was saved by Schlessinger, who swam to her aid.

Holmes makes some quick inquires & telegraphs Watson not to leave Lady Frances out of sight at any time. By the time Holmes arrives in Switzerland, Lady Frances has disappeared. Holmes & Watson meet Lady Frances's brother, who tells them that the bearded man is Sir Philip Green (Jack Klaff), an aristocrat who fell on destitute times & took up poetry several years ago. Lady Frances took interest in him when he became destitute. But her brother intervened and gave Green some money & a ticket to Australia to leave England, under the threat of legal prosecution for drunken violence charges.

The brother also informs Holmes that Lady Frances did receive a share of the estate, in the form of a priceless collection of Jewels, once belonging to the French Royal family. This collection is kept by Lady Frances in safekeeping, at a bank vault in London. Holmes & Watson reach the bank to stop Lady Frances from withdrawing the jewels. They find Philip Green at the bank & Watson tries to stop him. Green resists and a fight ensue. Lady Frances witnesses the fight & runs away with the jewelry box in her hand. Holmes is unable to intercept her.

Holmes & Watson interview Green. Green is seeking Lady Frances, but he still wants to win her heart. As a younger man, he was not rich. Now that he has made his fortune in South Africa, he hopes she will see him differently, but he is still rather churlish and clearly Lady Frances is unwilling. Holmes recommends that he go back to London.

Holmes then reveals that Schlessinger is in fact Henry Peters, a vicious rascal from Australia (his earlobe was chewed away in a bar brawl). His wife's real name is Fraser. He beguiles young women by playing to their religious beliefs, as Schlessinger did with Lady Frances. This suggested his identity to Holmes. Holmes believes that Lady Frances is in London, and now possibly dead, or if not, confined in some way (given that she has withdrawn the jewels on Schlessinger's suggestion).

The search seems hopeless. The police follow known associates, Holmes places advertisements hoping to learn something, but nothing happens. Then, a pawnshop reports that someone matching Schlessinger's description has pawned a pendant very much like one owned by Lady Frances. He gave a false address, but this gives Holmes what he needs. He has Philip Green wait in the pawnshop, knowing that Henry Peters will want to pawn more jewelry. It takes a few days, but he is not disappointed. His wife shows up this time to pawn a matching pendant, and Green follows her, first to an undertakers, where he finds Peters's wife discussing an "out of the ordinary" order, and later to an address in Brixton. He watches the house and sees some men deliver a coffin.

Holmes writes Green a note and sends him to the police to fetch a warrant. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson go first to the undertaker's to ask about the funeral - it is at eight o'clock the next morning - and then to Brixton where they demand to see Dr. Schlessinger, or whatever he may call himself. Once inside, in the absence of a warrant, Holmes is obliged to resort to force to search Peters's house. He finds the coffin, and deep inside it is a small, emaciated, very old, dead woman. It is certainly not Lady Frances. Peters explains that it is his wife's old nurse. The police come and tell Holmes and Watson that they must leave. Peters gloats over Holmes's obvious humiliation. The day ends in apparent failure. Nothing suspicious can be found about the household, no warrant arrives, and Holmes and Watson go back to Baker Street. Holmes does not sleep that night, preferring to go over the case in his mind. Finally, early the next morning, Holmes realizes what is going on. He and Watson rush to Brixton and make sure that the coffin is not removed from the house to go for burial. They unscrew the coffin lid and find Lady Frances inside, chloroformed. The Peters, while dishonest enough to kidnap someone to steal her jewels, were too squeamish to commit murder. Watson manages to revive her, and the Peters are found to have fled. It was the remark heard by Green at the undertaker's that helped Holmes deduce the truth. The woman there had been talking about an unusual coffin, and Holmes then also remembered that it was a big coffin for a very small woman, the idea being to obtain the necessary legal documents for the old woman, and then "legitimise" the burial of a coffin containing two bodies.