Publisher's Synopsis
General de Merville has been very loyal to the crown and the king wishes to spare Violet the heartbreak which a marriage to Gruner is sure to produce, so he has Damery hire Holmes to put some sense into Violet's head so she will break her engagement. Holmes in turn engages Shinwell who turns up Kitty. Kitty and Holmes meet with Violet but Gruner has brain washed her well and Violet feels that Kitty herself caused the end of her affair with Gruner and that Kitty's case is her own doing. Gruner hires a pair of assassins to murder Holmes. Only Holmes' boxing/single-stick skills save his life. Holmes has his surgeon, Oakshott, and Watson tell the press that he is at death's door and his life despaired for. Holmes learns from Kitty that Gruner has a very private diary in which he brags about all of his former love affairs. He keeps this diary in an inner study. Gruner is also an avid collector of ancient Chinese pottery. Damery acquires a rare piece of Chinese pottery which Holmes gives to Watson. Watson has crammed about Chinese pottery and visits Gruner pretending that he wants to sell his collection. This engages Gruner's attention long enough that Holmes can burglarize the inner study and steal the secret diary. Gruner sees through Watson's façade, deduces that he is an agent of Holmes and enters his inner study just as Holmes is getting away through the window. Gruner attempts to follow Holmes through the window but Kitty, who has been hiding in the shrubbery, throws vitriol in his face, maiming and disfiguring him for life. Holmes gives the diary to Damery and Violet, confronted with indisputable evidence, now sees that Gruner is truly evil and breaks her engagement. Holmes is charged with burglary and Kitty with vitriol throwing. The illustrious client gets the charges dropped against Holmes and gets Kitty off with the lightest possible sentence.
