The film follows Enola Holmes, the sixteen-year-old sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, who wakes up to find her mother, Eudoria, missing. Raised in isolation and taught everything from chess to jujitsu by her mother, Enola is ill-equipped for Victorian social norms but perfectly suited for a hunt for clues.

At its core, Enola Holmes is an exploration of in a world designed to restrict it.

The conflict between Enola and Mycroft represents the era's clash over women's rights; while Mycroft wants to send her to a "finishing school" to become a proper lady, Enola insists on defining her own path.