Colonel James Barclay needs the help of Sherlock Holmes. HIs exceptionally beautiful, but much younger, wife has disappeared, and foul play is suspected. Has she been kidnapped and held for ransom? Or is she in the clutches of a deviant monster? Are thousands of pounds at risk? Are the household staff in on it? Will Holmes find her in time, and if he does, what then? The story is set in London, Aldershot, and Brighton and is a tribute not only to the original mystery, The Crooked Man but also to the biblical story of King David and Bathsheba. If there is a moral to the story, it is the reminder that testosterone is the most dangerous chemical ever known to men.