Talic's past, from which he fled to the quiet provincial town of Vseslavsk, once again recalls itself in the most dramatic way. First, Victor Kronas's father appears to him, who assures him that his son is alive. And then Bogolyubov, an old friend, appears with the message that he will be killed soon... Talich will have to solve the mystery of the Bear Meadow, where, according to legend, an ancient temple is located, and face the killer face to face. 

The heroes will also unravel the mystery of the Vseslav Swamp, which the townspeople use to frighten naughty children. Glyceria and Talic will find a connection between the death of one woman and the disappearance of another. And the investigation will begin with a book about marsh plants, which for some reason is taken over and over again by the same reader.…

In little Vseslavsk, there are big problems again: a note with a mysterious text is found in one of the books, which at first is mistaken for the tasks of a book quest. But Talic manages to find references to three crimes committed in the text. Who left this encrypted message in the book and why? 

The next investigation begins with the discovery of the corpse of an employee of a local agricultural company in a van with seedlings. Glyceria finds out that a colleague of this employee also disappeared the day before. Also, both women had an affair with the driver. What is this: murder out of jealousy? Talich's accidentally dropped phrase helps to solve the crime of Glyceria…

The real shock for sleepy Vseslavsk is the mass murder in a suburban restaurant, which the press immediately dubbed the "apiary massacre." Once upon a time there was an apiary on this place, the owner of which died under mysterious circumstances. All the visitors and two employees were shot with hunting carbines. A surviving employee says that an emergency happened in the restaurant in the morning: a swarm of bees ruined all the desserts. Is it related to the tragedy, or is it a strange coincidence? It came as a complete surprise to Lika that not all the victims died from bullets. Plant poison was found in the blood of several people. They were all eating dessert. But where did it come from if the desserts had to be thrown away in the morning? In the investigation of this case, the key piece of evidence will be a note in which Talic finds an unusual detail.…