American heiress Henrietta Doran (known as Hatty) marries Lord St Simon, but she vanishes without trace on her wedding day, leaving London agog. Later, the police find her wedding dress in the Serpentine, a lake in a London park, with a note in the pocket of the dress. While investigating the case, Holmes suffers from nightmares, which he sees as a factor in the mystery.

Holmes investigates a killing which has all the hallmarks of the worst kind of Ruritanian vampire. He is sceptical (to say the least) about the possibility that the undead are up to their mischief just a short train journey from his rooms in Baker Street. If a local resident really found his South American wife sucking blood from their young son, what might it signify?

For years after her father's disappearance, the beautiful Miss Mary Morstan receives anonymously every year one large and valuable pearl. When, finally, an invitation arrives to meet the mysterious pearl-giver, Mary Morstan seeks Holmes's advice, and he begins to unravel some remarkable clues, including a poison dart and a man with a wooden leg. What Holmes finds is an old soldier who is determined to punish those who betrayed him and his friends by stealing their oriental treasure.

Holmes's brother, Mycroft, seeks his help in deciphering the story a man tells about being kidnapped and forced to translate for an injured Greek. Holmes investigates the disappearance of Paul Kratides, abducted by two villains, Latimer and Kemp, with the aim of forcing him to sign a document releasing his sister Sophie to marry Latimer.

On a visit to Wisteria Lodge, Scott Eccles gets a strange reception. A mysterious note arrives for his host, Garcia, and the next morning Garcia and his servants have vanished without trace. Eccles consults Holmes, who decides to treat the case as a murder investigation, but it appears that Holmes and Watson are on a wild goose chase.

Violet Hunter consults Holmes about Edward Rucastle's offer of a job. He wants her to cut off her hair before coming to work for him as a governess. Holmes sees a sinister motive and investigates.

Watson, on holiday in the Lake District, meets the enigmatic Lady Frances Carfax, who is being haunted by the ghost of a horseman. Holmes decides to come up to join Watson, but by the time he arrives Lady Frances has vanished without trace. Holmes investigates and becomes very curious about the ghost.

Holmes and Watson attempt to thwart the schemes of the infamous blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton from blackmailing Lady Eva Blackwell. But things do not seem as easy as they do and Holmes must sacrifice his morality and his honourable career to stop Milverton from wrecking her marriage.

Maria Gibson, the wife of a gold-mining millionaire, is found shot dead at their country house. Gibson asks Holmes to find his wife's killer and thus to clear the name of his children's governess, Miss Dunbar, who has been charged with the crime. Is Gibson acting as a kindly employer, and what are the hidden depths of the case?

Holmes investigates when a man dies and the manuscript of his recently-completed book is stolen. He has to discover who was behind an unusual proposal to buy a house and all of its contents.

Alice Turner sends for Holmes when her lifelong friend farmer William McCarthy is killed and police suspicion falls on his son, James. James McCarthy admits quarrelling with his father, but he will not explain what their argument was about.

Violet Smith has recently started a new job as music teacher to Robert Carruthers, staying during the week at his house in the country. She consults Holmes because she is worried about being followed once a week on her way to the railway station by a man on a bicycle. Carruthers asks Miss Smith to marry him, but Holmes sees a sinister connection between him and the stalker.

An unhappy wife learns that her husband, Colonel Barclay, cheated her earlier fiance, leaving him disabled and in exile. After a fierce argument between them, the Colonel's dead body is found next to his unconscious wife in a locked room with no key, and with curious animal tracks outside the window. Nancy Barclay remains in a coma.Holmes investigates and finds a story of betrayal and a mystery worthy of his powers.

A masked man calls, on confidential business, and Holmes quickly recognizes the visitor as the King of Bohemia. The King is planning for himself a dynastic marriage and is worried about a compromising photograph in the possession of his American former mistress. He wants Holmes to get it back for him.In outwitting the lady, Irene Adler, Holmes goes to great lengths - and at the end of the affair Watson comes to the conclusion that his friend is himself smitten.

Holmes is approached by Percy Phelps, of the Foreign Office, to recover a document which has been stolen - before it can cause an international scandal and ruin Phelps's career. It seems the British Empire and the Kingdom of Italy have entered into a secret and embarrassing treaty.

Three years on from Holmes's fatal fall into the Reichenbach Falls, Watson wrestles with a murder case under his own steam. But who is the enigmatic stranger in the Coroner's court, listening intently to all the evidence? Holmes returns home and explains how he escaped death at Reichenbach, while Moriarty lost his life. Holmes and Watson must now bring a partner of Moriarty's to justice, by proving he is a murderer.

Reluctantly, after an illness, Holmes takes a holiday in Cornwall, with Watson for company. Then one day he finds himself investigating a mysterious death... after a quiet evening at home playing cards, three local inhabitants have been found in the morning in a terrible way: the two brothers overtaken by sudden mental illness, babbling incoherently, and their sister dead, with her face twisted into a look of terror. Holmes is delighted with the chance to bury his holiday boredom by taking on the case.

Sir Robert Norberton stakes a huge amount (much of it borrrowed) on his horse Shoscombe Prince winning a race. His trainer thinks Sir Robert has gone mad and consults Holmes. Then one of the many creditors disappears and human bone is found in a furnace...

The daughter of scientist Professor Presbury sees her father's face at her second-storey window; Holmes connects this with recent zoo thefts.

The Mazarin Stone, a famous jewel, acts as a magnet for crime. Holmes investigates the latest and perhaps most curious episode in its adventures.

Hilton Cubitt, from Derbyshire, consults Holmes about a series of dancing men picture-messages his wife is receiving. On their wedding-day, she had made Cubitt promise he would ask her nothing about her past, but she now seems to be terrified. Holmes has to decipher the code of the matchstick men and get to the bottom of a dreadful murder which lies behind it.

Holmes is called in to investigate a murder. Lady Brackenstall says she saw a gang of men kill her bullying husband, Sir Eustace, but on Holmes's arrival the case seems to have been solved. Holmes is uneasy and returns to the scene of the crime, where he finds things are not as they appear to be. And Watson is curious to hear about the lady's love affair with a sea captain during a long voyage.

The Duke of Holdernesse needs Holmes's help when his son, Lord Arthur Saltire, is kidnapped from the Priory School. Holmes finds the connection between an old mystery and a teacher who has also gone missing.

A plumber, John Horner, is arrested just before Christmas and charged with stealing a famous jewel, the Blue Carbuncle, from Lady Morcar. He denies the theft - but he has a criminal record, and all the evidence is against him. After Holmes's doorman finds the Carbuncle in a Christmas goose, Holmes uses an old hat to track the goose to a poultry dealer, then traps the servant who stole the jewel and framed the plumber. The Blue Carbuncle has a dark history, and the stone features in the programme's opening credits with turbulent scenes from its past.

Dr Trevelyan calls on Holmes on behalf of his friend Blessington, after a Russian father and son vanish during a consultation. Blessington knows of no one who wishes him ill, but he is found hanged the next day. Holmes investigates, with advice from Watson.