Raffles is entertaining two friends at his home at The Albany one evening when he is visited by his old friend, Harry ""Bunny"" Manders. Bunny is goaded into a card game by Raffles' two friends, Carruthers and Tremayne, and eventually loses five hundred pounds. Having paid his debt by cheque, Bunny later confesses to Raffles that the cheque is worthless, and that his reputation will be in tatters when it becomes known.

Raffles confesses to Bunny that he is an amateur cracksman, a jewel thief who steals from the rich, but who - well, keeps the profits for himself, and invites Bunny to join him in his escapades. Bunny is surprised, but accepts Raffles' offer, and they arrange a robbery at the house of one of the men who had fleeced Bunny.

Reuben Rosenthal is a crude man from South Africa who has done well in the diamond industry. He is extremely rich and not afraid to flaunt his diamonds.

Raffles determines to have some of Rosenthal's diamonds for himself, and stakes out Rosenthal's house in St. John's Wood using a variety of ingenious disguises.

He and Bunny break and enter, but all is not smooth sailing and Bunny has a particularly rough night.

Bunny feels that he is not doing enough to justify his role in his partnership with Raffles. He suggests to Raffles that he take a more active role in their next burglary, and Raffles agrees.

Bunny arranges for their next target to be at his old home, now the residence of Lord and Lady Osborne. He arranges for Raffles to see Lady Osborne's diamonds at a party and Raffles is hooked.

But the organisational side of things is not quite as simple as Bunny had imagined it to be.

Somebody is setting himself up in opposition to Raffles as another gentleman thief, and Raffles doesn't like it, as he is being accused by Inspector Mackenzie of things which he did not do. Eventually Raffles pinpoints the thief as Lord Ernest Belville, and he and Bunny break into Belville's rooms in quest of some stolen loot.

Eventually there is a confrontation between Raffles and Lord Ernest Belville, and things go very wrong indeed for one of them.

Raffles has his eye on the Van Den Berg's wedding presents, but finds that he has an engagement at Lord's to play cricket on the day that they go on display, so Bunny goes in his place.

Bunny falls into the hands of Netje, the trigger-happy younger daughter of the Van Den Berg family who has taken it upon herself to guard the wedding presents from rogues and thieves.

A friend of Raffles', Teddy Garland, finds that he is in debt to the vicious moneylender, Brigstock. Raffles and Bunny pay a visit to Brigstock and manage to pay Garland's debt back.

Brigstock asks Raffles to steal a letter which is evidence in a court case pending against him. Raffles agrees, but has an agenda about which Brigstock knows nothing.

Ultimately Raffles puts Brigstock into a position where he must choose between his love for his money and life itself.