How many times did Nadezhda Lebedeva promise herself not to get involved in crime stories and not to pretend to be an amateur detective! But natural curiosity and adventurous character always prevailed. For once, having gone on vacation to Karelia with her husband, Nadezhda dreamed of peace and quiet. But her husband was urgently called to work in St. Petersburg, and Nadezhda was left alone. Hanging around the boarding house like a restless person and not knowing how to entertain herself, she accidentally met a former classmate whom she had not seen for many years. But he suddenly dies, and his death seems extremely suspicious to Nadezhda. Realizing that for the umpteenth time she is embarking on dangerous adventures of her own free will, Nadezhda nevertheless begins her own investigation.