In Venice, Gaston Monescu, a notorious thief masquerading as a baron, meets Lily, a
pickpocket posing as a countess. The two fall in love and decide to team up. They leave Venice for Paris, where Gaston steals a diamond-encrusted purse worth 125,000
francs from widow Madame Mariette Colet, owner of the famous perfume manufacturer Colet and Co. When Mariette offers a large reward for its return, Gaston claims it under the alias Monsieur LaValle. While claiming the reward, Gaston charms Mariette, and admits to being broke. Mariette hires him as her private secretary. He arranges for Lily to be employed in Mariette's office, and stands up to Mariette's board of directors, led by Monsieur Adolph J. Giron, the chairman, who is openly suspicious of him. Having observed Mariette open her private safe (and memorized the combination), Gaston persuades her that she should keep a large sum there, including half of her next dividend installment. Mariette begins to flirt with Gaston, and he develops feelings for her. Unfortunately for the thieves, Mariette has two suitors: the Major and aristocrat François Filiba, who was robbed in Venice by Gaston (posing as a doctor). François spots Gaston at a garden party and, sure they have met him before, asks him if he has ever been in Venice, which Gaston denies. Fearing imminent discovery, Gaston and Lily decide to flee that night with what is in the safe, and not wait for the dividend installment. Mariette is invited to a dinner party thrown by the Major. She cannot decide whether to go or to spend the night in bed with Gaston. She eventually goes, but not before Lily realizes that Gaston has fallen for her rival, and wants to back out of the plan. At the party, the Major tells François that he once mistook Gaston for a doctor, prompting François to recall the Venice incident. François tells Mariette that Gaston is the thief Monescu, but she refuses to believe it is true. Lily robs the safe after confronting her partner. Mariette returns home and suggestively probes Gaston, who tells her that Monsieur Giron has embezzled millions from the company over the years. He then admits to being Monescu and to cleaning out the safe. Lily confronts Mariette and Gaston, admitting that it was she who stole the money from the safe. She hands over the money but then retrieves it, saying it is the price Mariette must pay for Gaston, and leaves. Gaston goes after Lily, then returns to say goodbye to Mariette. He tells her that as marvelous as their affair would be, it would end with a policeman coming to arrest them both. As he leaves, Gaston reveals that he took Mariette's pearl necklace, describing it as her gift to Lily, and she allows him to take it. In the taxi, facing a chilly Lily, Gaston reaches for his present, only to realize she has lifted it from his pocket. Lily is at first triumphant, then realizes Gaston has lifted the money from her. This echoes their original meeting, when they first became partners in crime, and she embraces him in delight as the cab rolls away. ==Cast==