Scottish landowner Ranald Guthrie dies under mysterious circumstances, falling from the tower of his ancient castle. It may have been suicide, but the police are sure that Ranald was killed by his adopted daughter’s lover so that he could not interfere with their unequal marriage. But Inspector John Appleby, who arrived at the crime scene, believes that the reason for what happened lies in the mysterious death of his twin brother Ranald in Australia... Popular author of crime novels Richard Eliot is scared: his favorite character, the king of the underworld, nicknamed the Spider, has come to life in the most literal sense of the word. Someone calling himself by his name not only commits one daring robbery after another, but also begins a real persecution of Eliot and his family. Who is he? Crazy fan or jealous colleague of the writer? And most importantly, how does he know the details of even those novels that have not yet been published? Sir John Appleby begins an investigation...