In the first-ever parody of one of the best-selling novels of all time, a nasty murder points to lots of sinister and important mysteries that will change the world. Why, for example, did the dead man leave so many bafflingly inane clues when a sticky note would have done? Why does our code-breaking hero know so much useless stuff, and why is he usually wrong about it anyway? And what's the truth behind that frightfully sinister symbol, the publishers' circle?