Bernie Rhodenbarr has gone legit -- almost -- as the new owner of a used bookstore in New York's Greenwich Village. Of course, dusty old tomes don't always turn a profit, so to make ends meet, Bernie's forced, on occasion, to indulge in his previous occupation: burglary. Besides which, he likes it. Now a collector is offering Bernie an opportunity to combine his twin passions by stealing a very rare and very bad book-length poem from a rich man's...

Bernie Rhodenbarr is surprised to discover that the brownstone he is burglarizing has already been robbed that night, and is even more surprised when a dead body is found there the next day. When the police become interested in the stolen goods that Bernie tries to pawn, and another murder occurs close to home, Bernie is forced to investigate the crimes in order to clear himself of the murder charge.