The story begins in 1881,[citation needed] when Dr. Watson, having returned to London from Afghanistan, runs into an old friend, Stamford, who had been a dresser under him at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Watson confides in Stamford that, due to a shoulder injury that he sustained in the Anglo-Afghan War at the Battle of Maiwand, he has been forced to leave the armed services and is now looking for a place to live.