Disowned by his father and sent down by his college, a penniless Sherlock Holmes seeks refuge with his brother Mycroft in London. Soon a fellow student introduces him to a mysterious world of magic and deception which will teach him skills he will use throughout his detective career — the world of the theater.Kidnappers and a murderous attack at the stage door in London, police corruption in New York,train robbers in Nebraska, and hoodlums and shanghaiers in San Francisco are among the manychallenges young Sherlock Holmes faces.