On the threshold of the house of Thomas Knight, a teacher of English literature and a lover of Shakespeare, a woman completely unknown to him is murdered. That same day, a former student asks Knight to advise him on a Shakespeare play that many experts consider long lost. And a couple of days later, they try to rob Thomas’s house. When the dead body of his student is found on the river bank, Knight begins to suspect that everything that is happening is links in one chain. Realizing that the police are of little use, Thomas decides to start his own investigation. But having started it, he suddenly realizes with horror that time is working against him...