Sherlock Holmes is a 14-year-old boy living in Britain in 1868. He hasn’t yet grown into the famous detective he will one day become. The novel presents him as an inquisitive, intelligent boy who is only beginning to develop his powers of observation. He doesn’t yet demonstrate any of the traits that will become part of his legend. As the story begins, he seems more like a tabula rasa than anything else.

Sherlock feels alienated from the other boys at his boarding school and spends most of his time alone. With his father in India, his elder brother working in London, and a sickly mother and sister, Sherlock has no one to act as his confidante. This situation changes once he goes to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle. In quick succession, he meets Matty, Crowe, and Virginia, who all work together to solve a baffling mystery involving black smoke that kills. Largely through his innate intellect and Crowe’s tutelage in observational techniques, Sherlock begins to demonstrate the tenacity and brain power that will serve him as a professional consulting detective. He also learns the value of having a circle of friends on whom he can rely.