The Adventure of the Royal Heir

London headlines proclaim grievous news. Ludwig I, the enlightened monarch of the tiny Baltic Kingdom of Balcavia, has been murdered at the hand of an assassin.

Indeed, the country's sovereigns appear to be stalked by tragedy. Years earlier Ludwig's wife, Queen Wilhelmina, and their baby boy, young Ludwig II, met a fiendish end when an assassin's bomb found the window of their royal carriage.

Further political intrigue has seemingly carried to England's very shore.

Three days after the King's death, the Svortania, a Balcavian passenger liner, docked in London. Dr. Konrad Steinhem, an old friend and frequent visitor to King Ludwig was found dead in his cabin. His room had been ransacked in an obvious attempt to locate valuable documents.

Questioned on board were Balcavian General Ivan Plotnikoff, who was escorting Dr. Steinhem in an official capacity; international spy Deborah Vane; and a distraught Manfred Steinhem, Dr. Steinhem's fourteen year old son.

Baffled and fearful of international consequences, Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard reported to the Balcavian Prime Minster (who has rushed across Europe upon hearing the news of Steinhem's death) in his suite at the Hotel. Gregson could only conclude that Dr. Steinhem had been murdered shortly before the Svortania had docked.

Ludwig's younger brother Karl, "the Black Prince" has presented a demand for the throne as heir apparent. The king's youngest brother, Prince Otto, appears to be pressing the Balcavian assembly to delay Karl's coronation on "moral grounds" and move for a plebiscite on his own behalf.

Whilst clouds darken over the European scene as various factions prepare to sponsor the would-be heirs, the Balcavian Prime Minister has come secretly to 221B Baker Street convinced that his country's future lies at the heart of the mysterious killing of Dr. Steinhem.