In the episode, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson take on a case about stolen letters. This leads the pair into conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, a media mogul specialising in blackmail whom Sherlock despises. Holmes and Watson try to get Magnussen arrested, but their attempt fails when they confront him at Appledore, Magnussen's home. The title is based on Doyle's short story "His Last Bow", whereas the plot contains elements of two other short stories, "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" and "The Man with the Twisted Lip".