When influential billionaire Max Fairbanks takes away John Dortmunder's "luck ring" from John Dortmunder, who has broken into his Long Island mansion, he is sure he is dealing with a pathetic loser. In Westlake's inventive comic thriller, Fairbanks is eventually forced to regret the humiliation he inflicted on the thief. Dortmunder gathers a group of friends and strikes the offender in his luxurious abodes - from a penthouse on Broadway to a fancy hotel in Las Vegas.