 David Chesterman (Robert Redford) is kissing his family s French maid when his mother returns to their mansion. His mother immediately fires Marie, so young David counters he s leaving with her, to be married. Snorting that she won t be at the wedding, mother trickles 60 cents from her purse to the floor, for a wedding gift. Marie (Zohra Lampert) loves hot-tempered David, so she embraces the off-the-cuff proposal - and the immediate problems which come with it. David s friend Karl is charmed by Marie and eager to fill in jobless David s resume gaps for her: David is a professional jewel thief, who served a year in prison. Karl, a Beverly Hills wigmaker, omits his role in David s profession: Karl (Barry Morse, Inspector Gerard in "The Fugitive") cases his customers, then sics David on them. The older Karl s been divorced 4 times, so Marie s self-sacrificing love for David, turns Karl s bitterness into a consuming jealousy.