The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Holmes was infected with bubonic plague from a booby-trapped gift sent by a lost brother of his old enemy James Moriarty. Facing near-certain death, Holmes and Dr. Watson planned the desperate measure of suspended animation to preserve his life until a cure could be found. He remained frozen for eighty years until Jane Watson discovered and revived him.

Foreshadowing: The envelope with instructions that Jane receives foreshadows the discovery of something hidden in the estate.

• cryogenic
• frozen
• plague
• moriarty
• suspended animation

Following the detailed instructions left in the envelope, Jane found the hidden basement and the primitive cryogenic capsule. She managed to thaw Holmes and, most significantly, found a way to administer a cure for the plague that had been killing him. The exact medical method is not detailed, but her knowledge and determination allowed her to successfully bring Holmes back to life.

• revive
• thaw
• cure
• plague
• medical

Carter Morstan killed himself. The opening scene shows Small visiting Morstan, a struggle ensues, and a gunshot rings out, but the truth revealed later is that Morstan staged the encounter to make it appear Small murdered him. He then wrapped his own body in a carpet and set it on fire to fake his death, allowing him to disappear and carry out his scheme without being suspected.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene's chaotic presentation obscures what actually happened, setting up the mystery.

• murder
• morstan
• small
• faked death

Before retirement, Carter Morstan and three fellow FBI agents were involved in a hijacking that resulted in the disappearance of millions in counterfeit money. The money was supposedly paid to Peter Small, making him appear guilty of the theft. However, the agents refused lie detector tests and quit the FBI under suspicion of keeping the counterfeit cash for themselves, though in reality, Morstan orchestrated everything.

Foreshadowing: The backstory explains why Morstan had motive to frame others and protect his secret.

• fbi
• counterfeit
• hijacking
• money
• agents

Peter Small was the perfect scapegoat because he was the actual perpetrator of the original hijacking that the counterfeit money came from. Morstan used this to his advantage, making it appear Small killed the agents to silence them and steal back the money. In reality, Morstan was the one who murdered his former colleagues and kept the ransom for himself, while Small was framed for crimes he did not commit.

Foreshadowing: The mystery initially presents Small as the villain, misleading both the characters and viewers.

• small
• framed
• scapegoat
• blame

Morstan wanted to keep the stolen ransom money for himself. He orchestrated the entire scheme, killing his partners one by one to silence them and prevent them from revealing the truth about the counterfeit money. Each murder was meant to look like Small's work, allowing Morstan to eliminate everyone who knew about the original heist while framing an outside party.

Foreshadowing: The pattern of deaths, three agents killed and one surviving long enough to reveal the cache, follows Morstan's need to remove all witnesses.

• morstan
• murder
• colleagues
• betray
• greed

The ransacking was staged by Morstan himself. He broke into Jane's office to plant a bug that would allow him to monitor Holmes and Jane's investigation. The message signed Small was meant to direct suspicion toward Small and push Jane deeper into the case, giving Morstan a way to track their progress while keeping them chasing the wrong lead.

• ransack
• office
• bug
• surveillance
• small

Holmes pieced together the timeline and logical inconsistencies in the case. He recognized that the crimes served someone with inside knowledge of the FBI investigation, knowledge only Morstan would have. The staged burglary, the pattern of deaths, and the missing ransom money all pointed to someone who wanted to control the investigation from behind the scenes. Holmes used a ruse to draw Morstan out of hiding, exposing him to the FBI.

Foreshadowing: Holmes's methodical approach mirrors his classic detective style, building evidence piece by piece.

• deduce
• holmes
• evidence
• ruse
• expose

The FBI higher ranks were likely compromised or at least influenced by Morstan's position. Since Morstan was a former senior agent with connections, those in charge had reason to delay the investigation, either out of loyalty to a former colleague, reluctance to expose corruption within their ranks, or because Morstan had planted enough doubt about Small to make the case seem closed.

• fbi
• stall
• investigation
• obstruction
• ranks

Carter Morstan siphoned the entire ransom for himself. The hidden cache where the ransom should have been was empty because Morstan had taken it all after killing his partners. The money was never with Small, it was Morstan all along, using his position and the chaos of the scheme to steal the fortune and frame others for the crimes.

Foreshadowing: The trail going cold and the money vanishing points to an inside job.

• ransom
• money
• missing
• cache
• stolen

Violet Morstan is the daughter of the murdered FBI agent Carter Morstan. She approaches Jane Watson because she received the same 'Small' message that was left in Jane's office. She insists the message was meant for her, which contradicts the apparent message to Jane, adding another layer to the mystery and prompting the investigation that Holmes and Jane undertake.

• violet
• morstan
• daughter
• message

Holmes and Jane form a new partnership as detectives, with Holmes using his legendary deductive abilities alongside Jane's modern investigative skills. The film ends on a note of optimism as Jane contemplates a potential romantic relationship with FBI agent Tobias while continuing her professional partnership with Holmes, a continuation of the historic Watson-Holmes dynamic but with a contemporary twist.

• partnership
• holmes
• jane
• relationship
• future