Following the loss of his lucrative oil-industry job, Ace Mulligan quickly learns that available work within the confines of the law doesn't readily meet his financial requirements. He decides to turn his many talents toward jobs beyond conventional legal parameters, beginning with the heist of a gold coin collection worth half a million dollars. In his new line of work, Ace is quite busy with arson, oilfield theft, international money laundering, prostitution, drug smuggling, and espionage. He steals from the Mafioso and narrowly escapes murder attempts. When he is kidnapped and put into a mental institution, Ace is beaten and interrogated for information about his business cohorts. Ace amasses considerable wealth and a host of enemies, including a corrupt district attorney, an IRS fraud investigator, and a British Scotland Yard inspector. He enjoys female companionship with a redheaded prostitute, a seamstress of considerable talent, a Swiss banker, and a member of the Houston vice squad who is anxious to lead him to the altar. Among the many eccentric characters along his journey, Ace must discern who he can successfully deceive-and who may just be deceiving him.