It's New Year's Eve and Watson in watching the city-wide fireworks festivities out the Baker Street window when he and Holmes get a visit from a strange man named Abdul, who turns out to be the heir to throne in the somewhat mythical kingdom of Marrafaze. It seems that things aren't going too well back in the old homestead and he's come seeking protection from agents of his brother Mustapha, who is scheming to take the throne with the help of his father's counselor, the Wazir. As it turns out, Marrafaze is a place of some interest to both the British and the German governments; Mycroft guilts Holmes into accepting a mission to Marrafaze. So off go Holmes & Watson into a desert adventure.

As far as I'm concerned, this is way off the map in the Holmes & Watson territory and the whole Sarahan trek was just not believable. It's just out of character for Sherlock Holmes so it was a tough read. My advice: if you're reading this group of books (the Breese books collection), you can actually skip this one. ( )