Of all the conundrums that have puzzled Sherlockian scholars, few have been thornier than the "vexed question" of Dr. Watson's wives. In these ten stories, readers will meet the all-but-unknown women who preceded and succeeded Mary Morstan, as well as learning more about poor Mary's fate. Other cases involve Our Heroes with all levels of Victorian society, including prime ministers and prostitutes, aristocrats and generals, amateur sleuths and Scotland Yarders, composers, novelists, and even ghosts. The tales cover the entire span of Holmes and Watson's friendship, running from 1881 to 1937.