Adventure in Manhattan

Four robbers steal the Koor-Hal Ruby and kill four people during the heist, shocking the city. The crime baffles the police as the culprits vanish with the gem's glittering prize. The sensational theft sets the stage for Melville's involvement and the ongoing hunt.

Phil Bane, a newspaper editor, hires George Melville, a conceited crime writer and criminologist, to craft sensational stories to boost circulation. Melville soon dives into the case, offering theories about a mastermind behind the spree. The arrangement pings Melville's ego while pulling him into dangerous territory.

Melville identifies Andre Berlea, long thought dead, as the likely mastermind and predicts Berlea will next seize the Sunburst Diamond and kill the sole witness, a butler. Seconds later, news arrives that the butler has been murdered, confirming the new danger. The public and Bane begin to see a pattern forming behind the crimes.

On his way to Bane's office, Melville is distracted by a panhandler who steals his wallet. He tracks her to a beauty salon, where she undergoes a complete makeover. She pleads with him to wait until after 8 o'clock, weaving her personal troubles into the case.

Over dinner, she reveals she ran away from a cruel husband and is now trying to reconnect with her four-year-old daughter. Her ex-husband is finally allowing the visit, and she needs the money to make herself presentable for it. The personal backstory blurs the line between the crime puzzle and Melville's sympathies.

They go to a fancy mansion where Mrs. Northrop faints when shown a coffin; Mr. Northrop explains the child died two days earlier. It becomes clear this is a staged prank by reporters connected to a new play Fury's Road, with Claire Peyton as the star and Blackton Gregory as the producer. The scene reveals the media's manipulation of perception.

Minutes later, a famous painting is reported stolen from next door, while Gregory savors his latest acquisition in private. He decides to hire Melville to help with the play, recognizing a worthy foe in him. Melville's belief that Berlea is alive is now part of a larger scheme that Gregory will use.

Melville explains Berlea's compulsive love of beautiful things: before his 'death' he tried to buy three objects but was turned down, and two have since vanished. He predicts the third, the Starburst Diamond, will be stolen on Saturday at 11 pm. The plan threads together the theatrical and criminal worlds.

Bane organizes a stakeout at the bank where the jewel is kept, keeping Melville and staff on after-hours alert. The predicted crime does not occur by the deadline, and Bane fires Melville. The setback shows how unreliable Melville's theories can be.

Melville agrees to rest at Gregory's retreat to clear his head after the setback. The retreat becomes a quiet counterpoint to the caper unfolding elsewhere. It marks the lull before the storm of the bank-job plan.

Gregory's men dig a tunnel from the theater stage, where a World War I-inspired battle play is staged, toward the bank vault. The audacious tunnel sets up a stealth entry during the performance. The tension between performance and crime begins to blur.

At the premiere, mock explosions and gunfire are used to cover the burglars' assault as they blast into the bank vault. Peyton realizes Melville is in danger, yet Melville stays one step ahead of Gregory. The heist proceeds under the spectacle of the stage world colliding with real crime.

Peyton discovers the theft has taken place and worries for Melville's safety, but Melville's gambit has kept him alive and informed. She and Melville share a tense encounter as the mastermind's plan unfolds around them. The pair's calculus tightens the stakes for the final confrontation.

That night, Melville captures Gregory—revealing that Berlea himself is behind the plan. The chase culminates in Gregory/Berlea's defeat and the unraveling of the mastermind's scheme. The showdown leaves Melville both triumphant and wary of his own dangerous talent.

Furious and fed up, Peyton predicts she will make him suffer for the rest of her life by marrying him. The line between love and revenge complicates the ending. The final twist leaves open the emotional fallout as the city recovers from the crime spree.