A terrible crime shocked a provincial town. A young girl was raped and brutally murdered. Near her, the killer was found too—drunk on a powerful narcotic, with a bloodied knife in his hands. Newspapers and television enthusiastically reported the details. A chain of serial crimes was closed—captured in a loop. But why is the detective Tanechka Ivanova being blackmailed, hired for private investigation by the wife of the accused? Why are they threatening “We’ll do anything”? Who are “we,” she doesn’t know. But it’s better to risk than to blame herself later for not preventing the conviction of the innocent.