Victorian Scarborough, 1899. A blazing hot summer. Brothers Sidney and Walter Paget, illustrators of the Sherlock Holmes stories in the Strand magazine, are holidaying in the Yorkshire resort when they discover the body of a naked man with a knife thrust deep into his ribs. As they are drawn into the case, murder follows upon murder, disappearance upon disappearance, until they can no longer be certain who is who or what is what. Inspector Brasher of Scotland Yard is called in to unravel the mystery and the brothers soon fall under suspicion. Can the spirit of Sherlock Holmes come to their rescue?

This fast-moving historical whodunnit features quirky and sinister characters, humour and a good dose of sleaze, all unfolding in the delightful tourist spots of Scarborough.