His target was Holmes, and only Holmes-

Holmes is to lecture the New London police on scientific methods of criminal detection. But the great detective's priorities dramatically change when New London's governor suddenly vanishes, threatening to plunge the city into violent anarchy. Worse is to come: a sinister figure from Holmes' past conspires to wreak a terrible vengeance. Holmes and Watson are the best of friends, but their relationship will be tested to destruction by the horrific effects of the Lucifer Vine, a plant that inflicts madness, shatters once-unassailable alliances, and transmutes friendship into hatred. In this adventure, laced with violence, terror, and occult weaponry, Holmes and Watson fight for their sanity, their lives, and their golden bond of brotherhood.