1954. The French Riviera. Edward Lambert, a failed American playwright, dreams up a foolproof plan to rob the Banque de Nice. Helped by the Corsican Mafia, he manages to pull off the heist of the century while France sleeps.

The perfect crime. Except that Lambert can't resist taking the cache of documents and pornographic photos that will make him the most hunted man in Europe. The most ruthless of the hungers is Bellarmine, a hard-boiled cop obsessed with nabbing Lambert before somebody else kills him. The trouble is Bellarmine's other obsession. She's beautiful. And she's Lambert's wife.