Elegant French criminal, François Eugène Vidocq (George Sanders) takes his name from a tombstone & pursues a career of stealing rich women’s hearts…and their jewellery! We follow the career of Vidocq in this delightful light-hearted drama from his birth in a French jail in 1775 to his appointment as the chief of police for Paris. An appointment that gives Vidocq the opportunity to deprive Parisian’s of their money by robbing their bank! Assisted by his partner in crime Emile (Akim Tamiroff), Vidocq poses as a lieutenant to rob a showgirl (Carole Landis) of her ruby garter & steals the jewels of a marquise who invited him to stay in her home as a guest. When the marquise's granddaughter falls in love with Vidocq, the French Raffles has to decide whether to choose her & a life without blemish, the vivacious showgirl, or the beckoning bank vault!