Lord Robert Crawley and his family live a life of leisure, while a fleet of servants, including butler Carson, attend to their every need. But two events conspire to shake things up: the sinking of the Titanic, which claims Crawley's heirs, and the return of his valet, Bates. Since Crawley and Lady Cora have three daughters, his distant solicitor cousin, Matthew, becomes heir to the estate. With that, the scheming begins, since Thomas the footman views Bates as an interloper and Crawley's mother, Violet, feels the same way about Matthew's mother, Isobel.

A Royal scandal, a dazzling game of cat and mouse. The seductive Irene Adler is cold, calculating, brilliant. Has Sherlock finally met his match?

When a chance encounter brings soldier John Watson into Sherlock's life, it's apparent the two men couldn't be more different, but Sherlock's intellect coupled with John's pragmatism soon forges an unbreakable alliance as they investigate a series of baffling cases together.