Holmes is engaged by John Mason, groom to Sir Robert Norberton, whose horse is to run in the Derby in a few days. Mason has noticed many things wrong at Shoscombe Old Place, such as Norberton's meeting a stranger in the family vault, the discovery of bones in a furnace, and the distant behaviour of Sir Robert's sister, who has refused to acknowledge her favourite horse and given away her dog. Holmes reveals a plot which, rather than criminal,is a desperate bid to buy time.
—don @ minifie-1