For Johann Friedrich von Allmen, boredom is not an acceptable condition. During an uninspiring reading, the art detective spontaneously steals a famous Fabergé egg from the host's possession. His security officer, Krähenbühler, does not allow the unusual robber to be exposed, but tries to blackmail von Allmen into an even more brazen theft.
The rivalry between the manipulative boss of an advertising agency and her talented protégée escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder.