When a friend suggests that Bernie Rhodenbarr burglarise a romantic rival's home, Bernie is happy to oblige. For him, burglary is more than a career, it's his favourite hobby. Along with lesbian friend Caroline Kaiser, Bernie is overjoyed to find a safe full of cash - cash for which income taxes had not been paid and for which a police report is unlikely. And for once Bernie doesn't find a dead body in the house. At least not yet...because a nearby house has also been broken into and three people have died. The police recognise Bernie from a nearby bank ATM camera and soon he's in the newspapers as the suspect. A good lawyer gets Bernie out of jail, but he isn't out of trouble. Because criminals read the newspapers and now they think that Bernie has whatever was missing from the robbery gone bad. Unless Bernie can come up with the truth, he's in for some serious trouble from some very bad people. Fortunately, Bernie is good at finding the truth. Better yet for Bernie, an incidental burglary leads to a relationship with a beautiful lawyer. If he can stay alive long enough to enjoy it, he's got it made.