Retiring from his life of crime to write novels in Venice, gentleman thief Charlie is blackmailed into committing a dastardly deed in order to reclaim a prized rare book that has been stolen by a femme-fatale burglar.
A novelist who moonlights as a thief for hire, Charlie Howard is suspicious when an enigmatic American offers to pay him to steal two small monkey figurines, a suspicion that becomes all-too-real when his employer is nearly beaten to death.