Café Metropole

In Paris, 1937, Victor Lobard runs Café Metropole. After closing time, he ejects drunk American Alexander Brown from the premises. This early confrontation sets the stage for a web of deception that will ensnare them all.

Maxl Schinner, who had lent Victor 900,000 francs earlier and not been repaid, visits the café. Victor asks for another 60,000 francs and promises to repay everything at 6:00 the next evening. Maxl hands him the money, enabling Victor to press ahead with his plan.

Victor risks the 60,000 francs at baccarat and wins 420,000 more. Alexander wagers the full amount against him but loses. The unexpected windfall seems to secure the funds Victor needs.

Despite the apparent windfall, Brown confesses that he is penniless. The truth undercuts Victor's confidence and threatens to derail the scheme.

Victor bargains with Alexander to impersonate the Russian nobleman Prince Alexis Paneiev and to woo Laura Ridgeway, hoping to gain access to her fortune. The plan hinges on keeping up the illusion and delaying any revelation.

Alexis Paneiev arrives early at the café and goes to Metropole's flower shop to fetch a boutonnière. Laura mistakes him for a staff member, and Victor’s undercover scheme begins to take shape.

Laura joins her father at their table and Alexis is presented as a nobleman. Victor, still in disguise, is greeted as 'your highness' and dances with Laura; a waiter pretends there is a phone call that never arrives. The real Alexis later confronts Victor and Victor pays him 50,000 francs to stay quiet.

Alexander falls in love with Laura but cannot bear to lie to her any longer. He tries to discourage the relationship without revealing the scheme and ultimately agrees to marry her.

Victor has Monnet present Alexander with a contract demanding money from Laura's father—half a million francs before the wedding, the same amount after, plus payments for any children. The proposal disgusts Alexander and he declares he’s through with the scheme. Victor bluffingly returns Alexander's passport and a bad check to press his advantage.

Victor tells Ridgeway that Alexis is a fraud and manipulates him. Ridgeway, anxious to resolve the matter, writes him a check for a million francs to cover costs and keep the trouble at bay.

Ridgeway informs Laura about Alexis and Victor's scheme, but Laura says she already suspected something was off. She does not fully believe Ridgeway's claim that Alexis was bought off, keeping the tension high.

The Sûreté arrests the genuine Prince Alexis Paneiev instead of the fake. Laura visits the jail and learns from an older man that Victor has been orchestrating the entire ruse.

Alexander is charged with fraud and Joseph Ridgeway is arrested on suspicions of impersonating himself. Realization dawns that they have all been played by Victor Lobard. They scramble to outmaneuver the scheme and clear their names.

The group manages to get out of jail and returns to Café Metropole, confronting Victor. They begin untangling the web of lies and reclaim a semblance of control over their lives.

Alexander and Laura are set to marry, and they retrieve the check that had put Alexander in danger. With the deception exposed, the couple can begin their life together without the threat of jail hanging overhead.