The story opens in 1895, introducing a traditional Victorian version of Holmes and Watson. Inspector Lestrade arrives at Baker Street to present a baffling case: Emelia Ricoletti, driven mad, went onto a balcony and fired pistols wildly into the street before shooting herself through the mouth. However, later that night, Thomas Ricoletti was confronted and murdered by a woman matching Emelia's exact description, wearing the same blood-stained wedding gown, before disappearing into the fog.Fascinated by the prospect of a "living ghost," Sherlock takes the case. The mystery deepens when the "Abominable Bride" is sighted committing other murders around London. Months later, Mycroft Holmes hires Sherlock to protect Sir Eustace Carmichael, an aristocrat who received an ominous warning—an envelope filled with orange pips, a traditional death threat. Despite Sherlock and Watson staking out the Carmichael estate, Sir Eustace is brutally murdered overnight. Sherlock finds the Bride standing by the corpse before she vanishes through a solid glass window, leaving behind a note that reads, "Miss me?"