The story (based on a novel by James Hadley Chase) concerns the efforts of the genial and deceptively tentative Lepski (Michael Brandon), an insurance company detective, to track down a valuable medieval Russian icon, which was stolen by Bradley (David Carradine), a master thief.

Unable to find her runaway son, a woman deceives two of her ex-lovers from her youth, a mild-mannered teacher and a tough journalist, that each is the real father in order to obtain their help.