Josiah Amberley, a retired dealer in artists' materials, engages Holmes to find his wife who has run off with his money and a man called Dr. Ray Ernest whilst he was at the theatre. In the course of his investigation Holmes teams up with rival sleuth Baker, employed by Dr. Ernest's family to locate him. Holmes gets Amberley out of the way and breaks into his house, discovering that things are not as they have been explained to him.