While on holiday in the Lake District, Dr. Watson finds himself staying in the same hotel as Lady Frances Carfax, an unmarried and independent-minded woman. Dr. Watson overhears Lady Frances quarrel with her brother, the Earl of Rufton, about money, and observes a bearded man apparently stalking her. Dr. Watson concludes that Lady Frances and the bearded man know one other and that Lady Frances is frightened of him. Dr. Watson recounts these events in a letter to Holmes, who upon reading it immediately decides that the woman is in imminent danger and sets out to join Dr. Watson. By the time Holmes arrives, Lady Frances has disappeared.