Virgil Oldman (
Geoffrey Rush) is an esteemed but eccentric managing director of a preeminent
auction house. A lifelong bachelor who avoids physical contact and refuses to use a mobile phone, he wears gloves at all times except when handling artwork. Behind his impeccable professional reputation, Virgil secretly operates a long-running scam: with the help of his friend Billy Whistler (
Donald Sutherland), he acquires priceless female portraits at auction by having them misattributed to lesser artists, then buys them cheaply through Billy acting as a
shill. Over the years, Virgil has amassed a vast private collection of masterpieces worth millions, which he keeps hidden in a secret vault and admires in solitude. Virgil is hired by Claire Ibbetson (
Sylvia Hoeks), a young heiress suffering from severe
agoraphobia, to appraise and auction the extensive art and antiques collection left to her by her late parents. Claire refuses to meet Virgil in person, communicating only through phone calls and notes left with the villa's caretaker, Fred (
Philip Jackson). Intrigued by her reclusiveness, Virgil becomes increasingly obsessed with Claire, and the two begin a tentative relationship conducted through a locked door. During his visits to the villa, Virgil discovers a collection of scattered mechanical parts bearing the mark of the 18th-century inventor
Jacques de Vaucanson. He enlists the help of Robert (
Jim Sturgess), a young and talented restorer of mechanical devices, to reassemble the pieces into an
automaton. Robert, who is successful with women, also offers Virgil advice on how to befriend Claire and navigate his growing feelings for her. As Virgil and Claire grow closer, Claire gradually overcomes her fear and eventually reveals herself to him. Their relationship deepens, and Virgil, for the first time in his life, falls genuinely in love. He shows Claire his secret vault of paintings, and she tells him that whatever happens, her love for him is real. Virgil decides to retire from the auction business and plans a final farewell auction in London. After the successful London auction, Virgil returns home to find Claire and his entire collection gone. The vault is empty except for the restored automaton, which plays a recorded message from Robert: "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery," echoing Virgil's own words. Virgil realizes he has been the victim of an elaborate
con orchestrated by Robert, Claire, and Billy. A portrait of Claire, painted by Billy, has been left behind with a dedication: "With love and gratitude." Devastated, Virgil cannot report the crime because his collection was acquired through fraudulent means. He later learns from a woman with
savant syndrome who frequents a café opposite the villa that she is the real owner, and that she had rented the property to "an engineer"—Robert. She informs Virgil that "Claire" had left the villa hundreds of times, contrary to her claims of agoraphobia. After spending months recovering in a
psychiatric hospital, Virgil travels to
Prague and visits a restaurant filled with clocks and mechanical gearwork that Claire had once described as a place where she was happy. He sits alone at a table, waiting. ==Cast==