Franklin Blake returns to England after his father's death and seeks out the Verinder family butler, Gabriel Betteredge, to help him recover the famed Indian Moonstone that was stolen the previous year on Rachel Verinder's 18th birthday.
Following the disappearance of the Moonstone, the celebrated detective Sergeant Cuff is called to Yorkshire by Franklin. A devastated Rachel leaves for London casting suspicion on herself, while Cuff focuses on a servant in the household.