Holmes and Watson's evening is disturbed by cabbie Henry Wiggins who has called after finding a grisly package in his cab. A cryptic note and a freshly severed finger found in the package triggers a desperate search for the owner of the finger. After a visit to one of the Queen's Heralds, Mycroft is summoned when the involvement of Julia Moriarty is discovered. Holmes has a rendezvous with Moriarty and after this tense encounter which involves cups of tea and drawn pistols, he must balance an arms shipment to a potential enemy against a man's life. Finally, it appears that Julia Moriarty has defeated Holmes...but all may not be as it seems.