Architect by day; thief by night. Matthew Quinn is not what he seems. He owns a successful architectural firm in San Francisco, and deals with clients throughout the United States. One of those clients is Victor deVoleur, a wealthy industrialist who just happens to own a company that insures valuable pieces of art. When those are stolen, if they can not be recovered through normal means, he turns to Matthew Quinn, whose specialty is replacing the valuable artwork with carefully crafted replicas. deVoleur and Quinn start this adventure with the theft of The Ruby Crown, a priceless antique necklace weighing sixty-two carats, including the world's largest red diamond. It sounds like a straightforward job. Quinn was actually there to witness the theft when it was ripped from the neck of the model who was displaying it at Jonathan's Auction House. deVoleur knows who has it and has a good guess as to where it is. The trouble comes when Quinn discovers that the necklace is in the possession of Nino Caroli, San Francisco's notorious crime boss. Along the way to steal back the necklace, Quinn experiences ups and downs, and falls in love with the beautiful young woman he first saw modeling the necklace. Even Quinn will be surprised by the ending.