The title story of this collection tells how Sherlock Holmes is brought out of retirement to help the Government fight the German threat at the approach of World War I. The Prime Minister himself requests Holmes's services to hunt down the remarkable German agent, Von Bork. Several of the detective's earlier cases complete the volume, including Wisteria Lodge, The Bruch-Parrington Plans, and The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax. In the Dying Detective, Dr Watson is horrified to discover Holmes at death's door from a mysterious tropical disease as his friend lays a trap for a murderer.