Believing that his model is in trouble, a retired engineer, now an amateur painter, hires a private detective to find her. The reason for her "disappearance" is so she can start anew with her boyfriend, who has been released from prison. He will steal unsigned paintings from the painter's studio, have his girlfriend sign them, and profit from the eventual sale. The morning after the robbery, the painter is found dead. Oblivious that the true artist is dead, the art world becomes infatuated with the impostor