We have what appears to be an open and shut case, but these are never open and shut. A man has been murdered after an argument with his son. The son is now in prison, awaiting the hangman. A young woman in love (of course) with the son employs Holmes to exonerate him. Thanks to the police and their "herd of buffalo" mentality, some rather innocent clues are overlooked. Nothing is innocent to Holmes and he follows through. It seems that the key to many Holmes story is his belief in his client. It allows him to try to piece together what obtuse leavings there are. As with many of the stories of the time, if we are to have a satisfactory conclusion take place, we must depend on fortunate twists coming into play. It's not a bad thing, but contemporary readers or viewers would probably be rather unforgiving. The episode is well cast and presented, mostly true to the original story although a couple of pretty significant events are ignored.