After two friends have their houses looted of expensive paintings and vintage wine collections, Cleveland finds those responsible when he travels to Germany.

Cleveland visits two Canadian friends, Don Stuart and Ray Sharp, and admires their collections of racetrack art and vintage wine. When Ray's wife Susan returns to her house, she finds the house bare with every stick of furniture stolen, including a priceless Munning painting. While she is on the phone to her husband , an explosion destroys the house and her. Ray,Don and his wife, and Cleveland rush to the smoldering ruins, and in the interim, thieves also rob the Stuart house, stripping it bear of everything including the contents of his $200,000 wine cellar. When Stuart is falsely accused of mob activity by a suspicious policeman investigating the two crimes, Cleveland journeys to Germany to renew his acquaintance with a German beauty and pick up the trail of the stolen paintings.—[email protected]

In the Frame was first shown as a 2-hour entry in the syndicated TV anthology The Mystery Wheel of Adventure. The film was one of three mysteries based on the works of author Dick Francis. Ian McShane stars as Francis' most popular character, British Jockey Club investigator David Cleveland. Here, Cleveland comes to the aid of an old friend accused of stealing fine art and finer wine. After its syndicated run in 1989, In the Frame was broadcast over the Disney Channel pay-cable service.—Anonymous