In the story, a linguist called Melas tells the brilliant consulting detective Sherlock Holmes about an unusual crime. Melas was taken to a secret location where he was asked to act as an interpreter for a man who could only speak Greek. The man was clearly being kept prisoner. His face, including his mouth, was covered with sticking plaster. He responded to Melas' questions by writing on a slate. Before leaving the location, Melas found out that a Greek woman called Sophy was also being held prisoner there,