She Fell Among Thieves

In Château Jezreel in the French Pyrenees, Jenny is pressed into a marriage to secure Vanity's fortune. The groom Gaston collapses drunk at the altar, scandalizing the scene. Acorn proposes using a substitute bride, and Vanity begins to consider disposing of Candle to advance her plan.

Candle's corpse is found floating downstream after the limousine scene with Jenny and Candle aboard. Chandos dives to rescue him, but the fast current defeats him and the dead man's shoe comes off in his hand. The incident seeds Chandos's suspicion that murder lies behind the staged elopement.

At the British consulate in Biarritz, Chandos meets Jonathan Mansel, who identifies Candle's shoe as belonging to Elvin Candle, a former painter turned counterfeiter in Vanity's circle. The connection to Vanity's crime boss confirms that something more sinister is afoot. Chandos resolves to follow the trail and learn the truth at Jezreel.

Chandos engineers a crash between his Rolls and Vanity's limousine, drawing her attention. Impressed by him, Vanity invites him to stay and attend dinner with her circle. The gathering includes Acorn, Gaston, Virginia (the actress posing as Jenny), and Father Below.

The next morning, Mansel arrives at Jezreel disguised as a Rolls mechanic named Wright. Vanity scrutinizes his hands and senses something is off. Mansel explains Vanity's plan: Jenny's forthcoming marriage would win Vanity the fortune, so Chandos must gather reconnaissance.

Vanity slips a pill into Chandos's drink and he faints. Mansel cannot wake him, and a servant with a hypodermic approaches, prompting Mansel to slip away and leave a warning note for Chandos. He then refuses to return, signaling a deeper conspiracy at Jezreel.

Next, Mark, Vanity's chauffeur, smuggles Gaston's body out of the château. Chandos, while hillwalking, encounters Jenny near a cottage. They witness Lafone supervising the digging of Gaston's grave; Lafone knocks the gravedigger unconscious and shoves him into the grave. Jenny's scream triggers a dangerous escape.

Vanity tightens the deadline: Jenny's birthday is tomorrow, and she must be married by nightfall. Vanity considers replacing Gaston with Acorn as the groom-to-be. Chandos leaves Jenny with Carson and returns to Jezreel with Bell to press the plan forward.

Acorn forges a letter in Chandos's handwriting directing Mansel to take Jenny to Biarritz. The note is thrown from a window and picked up by Bell, who becomes suspicious of the ruse. Chandos manages to escape the château but cannot reach Bell in time to stop Vanity's scheme.

Vanity ambushes Bell and Jenny and takes Jenny back to Jezreel. When Mansel and Chandos return, the portcullis is down, trapping Chandos. He hides in a cupboard as Vanity locks him in and seizes control of the situation.

Chandos climbs the château wall while Mansel runs to fetch the police. Jenny pleads that she would rather marry Chandos, a notion Vanity half-promises. Below conducts the wedding in Latin, attempting to seal Vanity's grip on the fortune.

Mansel interrupts the ceremony and the authorities arrive as news breaks about the bodies found. Below reveals he read the service for the dying, so Jenny and Chandos are not lawfully married. Facing exposure and execution, Vanity takes poison and dies, ending her scheme.