Sir Robert Norberton, Baronet was a British gentleman and horse-breeder. He lived at Shoscombe Old Place in Berkshire in the home of his widowed sister, Lady Beatrice Falder. Sir Robert was known to be a man of dangerous temper and a gambler, and to have enormous debts due to his horse-racing hobby. Eventually his suspicious behavior, as well as a sudden change in the habits of Lady Beatrice, caused his head groom, John Mason, to suspect sinister dealings were occurring in the house. Mason sought the help of Sherlock Holmes in discovering the causes of Sir Robert's suspicious behavior. A fragment of charred bone in the furnace of the house suggested that Sir Robert may have murdered his sister, and replaced her with an imposter to conceal the crime, so Holmes and John Watson traveled to Sh