Hard luck Claude Demay was sent up for six years in prison for starting a fire in a warehouse containing the valuable Nathan Claver art collection. After his release, Demay devises a plan to expose the real criminal, Leonard Voss, and prove his innocence. He tediously weaves a perfect imitation of a valuable tapestry supposedly lost in the fire and barters this tapestry to Voss in exchange for an original Buddah statue. Demay knows that the statue will prove that the collection was not destroyed in the fire and will expose Voss as the real criminal. Unfortunately, Voss is murdered before the trade takes place and Demay is arrested for another crime he didn't commit.

The drowning death of a newspaper executive during a fishing trip sets off all kinds of repercussions at the newspaper itself.