A tragedy occurred in the ancient university town: the rector of the college was killed in his own apartment. Moreover, for some reason the mysterious killer scattered human bones in the living room and painted skulls on the walls. What is this? A dark joke by a criminal? Or a strange attempt to explain something? Scotland Yard Inspector John Appleby begins an investigation... An amateur production of Hamlet with the participation of representatives of the aristocratic families of England ended in a terrible crime - the Lord Chancellor, who played the role of Polonius, was killed. Inspector John Appleby draws attention to the fact that shortly before the murder, a mysterious unknown person began to literally stalk the victim with anonymous messages containing quotes from the works of Shakespeare. But what were they - threats, warnings or something else?..John Appleby and his friend, Professor Giles Gott, are ready to take on this case and find the culprit...