In Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes is not alone in solving mysteries that baffle the official police. Housekeeper, schoolmistress, detective: Mrs Meinir Davies tracks down missing mothers, stolen treasures, and secrets and scandals touching some of England's most venerable institutions, from the Church to the Houses of Parliament.

In this collection of 12 stories, Meinir joins forces with Sherlock, Dorcas Dene, and the official police on the streets of London, from East to West, to help public servants, abandoned children, and one mysterious Mrs J. Holmes. What is the true story behind one of Holmes' bloodiest adventures, The Red Circle? Why has the man in the white hat followed Mrs Holmes across the Atlantic? And how many marriages will be threatened by a single diamond lizard?