When the murder of a penniless shopgirl is linked to the body of debutante Lady Alice Burnham, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Rupert Everett) immediately begins to piece together the clues.

"Dr. John Watson (Kingsley) is secretly a crime-solving genius. But to protect his reputation as a physician, he hires bumbling, boozy, out-of-work actor Reginald Kincaid (Caine) to play the part of his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes. The charade works until Watson mysteriously disappears, forcing the baffled, seriously inept 'Holmes' to crack the biggest case of Watson's career on his own"--Container.

London is in a panic over a series of apparent "Pajama Suicides." Sherlock Holmes, however, is more inclined to believe that they are calculated murders. It is up to the detective and his partner, Dr. Watson, to discover the motive and the means of these crimes and to quickly unmask the murderer. Miss Adria Spedding is an intoxicating woman of character whom Holmes is convinced is behind the killings. A series of masquerades and deadly game playing...

The crooked man: Servants for Colonel James Barclay hear arguing and then blood-curdling screams before finding their employer dead. The speckled band: Helen Stoner becomes concerned when she hears a mysterious whistle-a sound her sister complained about right before her death.

Provides summaries of each of the stories; discusses the life and work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes, Watson, and the other characters, and film and television adaptations; and offers interviews with actors and others involved.