How to Steal a Million

Nicole confronts a burglar, Simon Dermott, who is holding her father's forged 'Van Gogh.' An antique gun fires accidentally, wounding him slightly. Rather than contact the police, Nicole decides to keep quiet to avoid triggering an investigation that could expose the forgeries and ruin her father's reputation.

American tycoon Davis Leland meets Nicole and becomes obsessed with owning the Venus. At their second meeting, he proposes marriage to secure access to the statue. Nicole accepts his ring in a hurry and then rushes off to the museum to proceed with the planned heist.

Charles Bonnet lends the Cellini Venus to the Kléber-Lafayette Museum for exhibition. The statue was sculpted by Charles's father, and Charles has never sold it, knowing that testing would reveal a forgery and threaten the entire collection. Charles signs the museum's insurance policy, unaware it includes a forensic examination, making any withdrawal risky.

Nicole explains that her grandfather sculpted the Venus and her grandmother was the model, giving her a personal link to the statue. Simon notices the resemblance between Nicole and the Venus and admits that he has known the Venus is worthless, yet agrees to help her to protect what she loves. The revelation deepens their resolve and personal stakes in the plan.

The plan to steal the Venus tightens as Simon decides to join Nicole. He had initially claimed the heist was impossible, but his feelings for Nicole and the prospect of an authentic role in protecting her family change his mind. They finalize how to disable the museum's security long enough to make the theft feasible.

Nicole and Simon hide in a museum utility closet as guards change shifts. Their surveillance reveals the guards' routine and timing. Simon triggers the security alarm repeatedly with a boomerang until the system goes silent, enabling them to move.

Simon steals the Venus while Nicole, disguised as a cleaning woman, hides it in a bucket. When the statue is discovered missing, chaos erupts and they seize the opportunity to escape into the confusion.

Davis Leland pursues the missing Venus, while Simon negotiates a sale with the condition that the statue is never displayed and that he never contact the Bonnet family again. In a sly move, he slips Nicole's engagement ring into the package, complicating Leland's plans and reminding him of the fragile loyalties involved.

Nicole and Simon celebrate their success. Simon reveals that he is not merely a thief but an expert consultant and investigator hired by galleries to test security and detect forgeries. He explains he has no intention of exposing Nicole or her father, choosing instead to protect them.

Simon assures Charles that the Venus will be kept out of reach abroad. He reveals the purchase price was zero and that the statuette was never authenticated, which would have compromised the Bonnet collection. Charles, relieved yet pragmatic, agrees that at least one of them must retire from forgery as part of the deal.

As Nicole and Simon prepare to marry, a collector who admired Charles's newly dubbed 'Van Gogh' returns to the Bonnet home and is welcomed as a 'cousin.' The exchange signals a broader acceptance of deception as a tool for security. The two drive off together to begin their new life, free of the old pressures.

With the plan in motion, Nicole and Simon embrace a future built on new loyalties and shared secrets. The film closes on their decision to leave behind the old forgeries and start anew with trust in each other, and an implicit promise to protect the art world from exposure and wreckage.