The story opens with Watson and his wife having breakfast when they are interrupted by a telegram sent by Holmes. The detective is about to leave for Boscombe Valley as he has been hired to exonerate a young man accused of patricide. Holmes is requesting Watson’s assistance in the case.

Watson’s wife encourages him to agree to the invitation and he is soon packed and ready for an adventure. While the two men are on the train, Holmes explains the situation to his friend. A wealthy landowner, John Turner, who made his money in Australia, has provided a farm, free of charge, to another man from Australia, Charles McCarthy. Both are widowers and McCarthy has a son, James, while Turner has a daughter, Alice. One day while in the forest, McCarthy and his son fight. Sometime later, the young man comes running out of the trees covered in blood seeking help. When people follow, they find McCarthy’s dead body. The police conclude that the young man killed his father. Turner’s daughter, however, who is in love with James, is convinced of his innocence and appeals to Holmes for help.

The two friends are met at the train station by detective Lestrade of Scotland yard, “a lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking” (73).