The Adventure of the Final Problem (1893) is the short story in which Sherlock Holmes confronts his greatest and most dangerous adversary, Professor James Moriarty. Holmes tells Watson that he has finally gathered enough evidence to destroy Moriarty’s vast criminal network, but the professor has sworn to eliminate him first. With his life in immediate danger, Holmes persuades Watson to accompany him on a sudden flight to the Continent. The two men make their way through France and Switzerland, constantly aware that Moriarty is close behind. At the Reichenbach Falls, Holmes sends Watson away on a pretext and faces Moriarty alone; when Watson returns, he finds only a farewell note and the signs of a struggle that appears to have ended in both men plunging to their deaths.