A bank cashier discovers that a two-million-dollar payment is missing and conceives a daring scheme to steal the funds himself so his employer can claim robbery and gain time to avert collapse. He persuades the owner that staging the theft and manipulating the attendant publicity, including the involvement of a celebrated detective, will postpone creditors until market conditions improve. The narrative follows the planning and execution of this deception, the attempts to mislead police and newspapers, and the tense interplay of loyalty, reputation, and cunning as characters maneuver to save the firm from financial ruin.