In volume one of the trilogy 'The Adventures of the Flubb' The Flubb had barely had time to adjust to his comfortable new life as 'word taster' for a novel dictionary project when he found himself whisked away by Scotland Yard. The task for which he has been seconded turns out to be to give his opinion on an ambiguous suicide letter that had fallen into the hands of the police in connection with a suspected murder case. A theatre critic has been found stabbed to death in his own drawing room and his actress wife - who penned the letter - has disappeared. Certain suspicious words have been underlined in the letter by the forensic experts and now - snipped out - they are being detained in holding cells below the Yard for interrogation. In the middle of the Flubb's examination of the renegade words they manage to break out and scatter. This results in a nerve-wracking chase across the English landscape accompanied by the manic sergeant Jenkins, in an attempt to bring them back to their cells.