The sequel to 'The Iron Mausoleum'. A ship of the White Star Line, believed to be the 'Titanic', has been sunk in mid-Atlantic for a variety of reasons, chief amongst which is the concealment of forged artwork en route to a lucrative art exhibition at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Holmes has explained to Sir James Walter of the British Admiralty the role Moriarty played in the deliberate sinking of the so-called 'Titanic'. Sir James implores Holmes to take up the case against Moriarty and bring him to justice for the part he played in the death of over 1,500 souls during that fateful sinking, and to recover the reputation of the British merchant marine. Scotland Yard, too, is keen to exact justice on Moriarty, not a simple matter since Moriarty neither resides in England or within the Empire. Pinkerton agents in the United States are also anxious to interview him, as are the Jesuits. There is also the question of the missing works of art, of great value, believed to have gone down with the 'Titanic'. By inquiring into this mystery, Holmes and Watson are drawn into direct conflict with Robber Barons, Bankers, Rail Road Giants and Steel Titans in a rarefied world where art, finance and industrial power clash. These encounters take place as the pair travel to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where they re-encounter the Oklahoma heiress, Katherine. Whilst there Holmes formulates a theory more startling in its implication than the deliberate sinking of the 'Titanic' ship