Penelope

Penelope disguises herself as an elderly woman and robs her banker husband’s bank, triggering a police chase. She escapes in a distinctive red wig and yellow suit, leaving chaos in her wake. She donates part of the loot to a Salvation Army worker and later the suit ends up at a thrift shop, where con artists Sabada and Ducky buy it for a mere $7.

Penelope donates some of the stolen money to a Salvation Army worker and donates the designer suit to a thrift shop. Sabada and Ducky quickly recognize the outfit as a Paris original and purchase it for a pittance. The sequence shows how her thefts ripple through ordinary lives and fashion lore.

Penelope visits her psychiatrist Gregory and recounts a life of theft that began in college, when a professor allegedly tried to rape her. She describes escaping the assault, losing her dress, and stealing the professor's watch fob during the chase. Gregory notes that her compulsions may be a bid for attention from her distant husband.

Penelope explains that she first began stealing on her wedding day after catching her maid of honor, Mildred, kissing James. She specifically swipes Mildred's earrings and necklace as part of her early pattern. The confession underscores the personal hurt fueling her crimes.

Gregory theorizes that Penelope's stealing is driven by a need to attract attention from her distant husband rather than mere greed. He frames her actions as a coping mechanism in the context of their strained marriage. The session deepens the viewers' understanding of her behavior.

A young woman named Honeysuckle Rose is accused of being the thief, stirring tension around the case. Gregory wants to return the money to the bank but panics when police cars arrive. Penelope confesses in an effort to clear Honeysuckle, yet Horatio and James do not believe her.

Ducky and Sabada visit Penelope, attempting to blackmail her with the stolen items. She outsmarts them and foils the extortion plan, demonstrating her quick reflexes and resolve. The encounter leaves her more unsettled yet determined to protect herself.

Penelope hosts a dinner party and has stolen from every invited guest. She tries to return the items, but each guest insists they never saw them before. The social deception spirals into a tense, comic standoff as her ruse unravels.

Confused and frightened by the growing fallout, Penelope runs away from the scene. She disappears into the city streets, trying to escape the net closing around her. The flight marks a turning point in her already fragile psyche.

Penelope returns to the bank to rob it again, but this time her crying betrays her vulnerability. The heist feels less triumphant and more tragic as emotion overrides strategy. The act intensifies the pursuit by James and Horatio.

James begs Lieutenant Horatio Bixbee to locate Penelope, turning the case into a personal summons for help. Horatio's involvement heightens the stakes, blurring professional and marital loyalties. The pursuit intensifies as the couple's diverging paths collide.

Penelope brings the stolen money to Horatio's office, hoping for resolution. Horatio remarks that James would not press charges against his own wife, revealing a fraught dynamic that complicates the legal and emotional landscape. The confrontation forces hard choices from all involved.

Gregory explains why the dinner guests denied recognizing the stolen items—because they would lose fraudulent inflated insurance claims they had collected. The revelation reframes the thefts within a broader web of deception. Penelope's actions are thus seen as symptomatic of systemic greed as well as personal history.

Gregory begs Penelope to run away with him, but she refuses, insisting that she is cured. The moment tests whether her break with crime is lasting or merely temporary. The two characters confront the possibility of a new path apart from crime or obsession.

James realizes he has neglected Penelope and sees her image everywhere he turns. He goes to the psychiatrist's office, where James and Penelope finally reunite. The ending ties together personal reconciliation with therapeutic insight.