In 1913 Eleftherios Venizelos is in London for a conference with the representatives of the Balkan states after the Balkan Wars. A conspiracy is being woven for his assassination by the Bulgarian conspiratorial organization "K.K.K.". Sherlock Holmes is called upon to solve the case and save the Greek Prime Minister. The story takes place a few months before the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo by members of the pro-Serbian organization "Black Hand" and the start of World War I. Nine years after the fictional attempt against Venizelos in London, a real attempt against a Greek politician will be organized in the 1922 Lausanne Conference, with Bulgarian involvement.

On 19.12.1913, the first unsigned continuation of an extensive narrative titled "Sherlock Holmes saving Mr. Venizelos" and subtitled "From the latest achievements of Sherlock Holmes" was published in the weekly magazine "Ellas". It was completed in twenty-five installments on 13.3.1914. The author is obviously Greek. According to previous studies, we must consider this extensive narrative with considerable certainty as the first Greek detective novel, both in terms of length and subject matter.

This edition can be considered "historical". It is being published exactly one hundred years after its first publication and a few months before another anniversary, the one hundred years since the start of World War I.

The atmosphere of international relations, as it was shaping up shortly after the end of the Balkan Wars and shortly before the Great War that changed the world and the Balkans, is reflected in this novel, in a vivid Conan Doyle style, bridging the detective narrative of the time with the present, while also providing material for contemporary historiography of the era.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: And yet, no. A thought occurred to me. In what I read to you, you would have noticed that among the objectives of the "K.K.K." company is "political assassinations". At the same time, I thought that the diplomatic mission for peace in the Balkans is currently here. In order to deal with the Bulgarians, we must first secure the lives of the Greek delegates...

WATSON: How is that possible? The Greeks and the Bulgarians are now friends and allies...

In the last years of the 19th century, public figures were being assassinated at a rate of one per year. The lists of victims included the Prime Minister of France, the mayor of Chicago, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, and the Empress of Austria. In the early 20th century, between 1900 and 1913, political assassinations increased dramatically. Forty heads of state, politicians, and diplomats were killed by bullets or bomb explosions. Among them were four kings (two from the Balkans), six prime ministers, and three presidents. Twenty-eight assassinations took place in Europe.