Burglar Bernie Rodenbarr and his lesbian sidekick Carolyn Kaiser break into houses, apartments and even a museum, in a madcap adventure replete with American Colonial silver, an F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript, a priceless portrait, a remarkable array of buttons -- and a murder that needs to be solved.

"The Greenwich Village bookseller who moonlights as a burglar "happens" to discover a rare coin in someone else's apartment. The next day, two dead bodies are found there, one belonging to the owner, the other to Bernie's fence. To clear himself of a murder charge, Bernie must clear up the mystery."--Publishers Weekly.