In Paris, a prominent art collector, [Charles Bonnet](/actor/hugh-gr Griffith) (the father) builds a glittering reputation by forging and selling famous paintings, while his disapproving daughter, Nicole Bonnet, grows increasingly anxious about the day his deception might be uncovered. Late one night at the Bonnet mansion, Nicole stumbles upon a burglar named Simon Dermott, who is toting her father’s supposed masterpiece, a forged “Van Gogh.” The sight unsettles her, but fear for her father’s fame and fortune drives her to act. A confrontation with the intruder ends when a stubborn, antique pistol accidentally fires, grazing Simon’s arm. Rather than call the police, Nicole chooses to shield her father’s secret and, in a surprising turn, escorts the agreeable thief away in his posh car toward his extravagant hotel.
Across town, the drama shifts to the museum where the legendary “Cellini” Venus rests on loan. The statuette, carved by a sculptor who is tied to Charles’s own lineage, has never been sold, because any public sale would prompt scientific tests that would expose the fake and unravel the family’s entire collection. The museum insurance policy is standard, but it includes a forensic examination that could trigger a disastrous chain of inquiries. Nicole, determined to protect her father’s reputation, asks Simon to steal the Venus before the tests begin. He claims the task is impossible at first, yet his professional pride—and his growing fascination with Nicole—make him rethink.
Meanwhile, the wealthy daredevil Davis Leland arrives on the scene with a singular fixation: he wants the Venus at any cost. This American magnate, a tireless art collector, arranges to meet Nicole with a bold proposition: he intends to purchase the statue and, as a means to secure it, suggests a marriage. Nicole accepts the engagement ring in a hurry, and when she casually mentions being involved with Simon, Leland’s mood flickers with a mix of surprise and irritation. The love triangle now sits atop a delicate balance of ambition, devotion, and deception.
The plan to lift the Venus unfolds during a late-night shift inside the museum. Nicole and Simon hide in a utilities closet until closing time, mapping the guards’ routines with meticulous precision. Simon uses a boomerang to repeatedly trigger the security alarm and, after a series of calculated maneuvers, manages to disable the system long enough to execute the heist. A moment of revelation comes when Simon notices Nicole’s striking resemblance to the Venus; she reveals a family secret—that her grandfather sculpted the statuette and her grandmother was the model. Simon confesses that he had known all along the Venus was a forgery but agreed to the job for Nicole’s sake. The theft proceeds smoothly: the Venus is stolen, and Nicole, disguised as a cleaning woman, conceals it inside a bucket. The resulting turmoil in the museum’s hallways lets them slip away with the prize.
With the statue in their possession, the chase for the Venus intensifies. Leland, undeterred, seeks to own it by any means, while Simon negotiates a cunning terms: the statue will never be displayed publicly again and Nicole’s family will never hear from him again, with the expectation that payment will eventually come in some form. Leland, reeling from a confrontation with Nicole when she tries to return her engagement ring, ends up taking the ring and using it as part of the deal. The stakes rise, and the lovers’ ruse deepens: the statue becomes both a target and a symbol of their bond.
In the aftermath, Nicole and Simon celebrate their daring escape and the risky alliance they’ve formed. Simon reveals a surprising truth: the Venus had been his first major heist, but he is no ordinary thief—he is a skilled consultant and investigator hired by major galleries to test and strengthen security against forgeries. He explains that his initial interest in Charles’s collection was professional, yet Nicole’s presence has transformed his plans. With a new sense of loyalty to her, he vows to move the statue out of reach for good. He also reassures Charles that the Venus will remain safely out of the country, and in a striking exchange, tells him that the price of the “purchase” was zero dollars because the statue had never been authenticated, and thus there was no insurance to claim.
Charles, at once relieved and quietly disappointed, recognizes the shift in the family’s fortunes and agrees that forgery, in effect, must end. The two would-be adversaries-turned-allies acknowledge the necessity of retiring from this dangerous game. As the couple prepares to marry, a last, knowing wink passes between them. A new collector—who had admired Charles’s newly styled “Van Gogh”—arrives at the Bonnet house, and Nicole smooths the moment with a confident, almost conspiratorial explanation that the visitor is merely a cousin. Simon, impressed by Nicole’s cleverness and resilience, looks ahead with a sense of shared purpose. They drive off into a future where love and art—and perhaps a touch of farce—have redefined what forgery means, and where the pair can finally begin their new life together, free from the old rules that governed the Bonnet family.
