The day after the newspaper "Thought" published a crossword puzzle with an error in the answers, two editorial staff found dead. Then two more people are killed, seemingly related to this mistake. The method of killing is savage. The entourage of crimes is also unusual: vodka of one brand, bitten cucumbers were found in the apartments of the murdered, and cut-off felt boots on their feet. And the mistake was that the answer to the question: "The rodent of the squirrel family, in danger of becoming a "column"" was the surname of the most powerful security official of the state, Fyodor Mudrik.