A ruthless small time crook's rise from backroom bookie in a barber shop to that of high stakes international con artist. Max Werner gets rich as he moves from gambling to crooked stocks and bond dealing. Fleeing the authorities, he absconds to England where he continues his deceptions and setting up fake companies. Following a newspaper exposé of an accomplice, he double-crosses another and returns to America with his girlfriend, where a trap awaits him.[4]