An art dealer in dire straits, after being ripped off by two crooks, one of whom owns a genuine painting by Gauguin while the other is an expert copyist, finds them again and, instead of killing them as he originally intended, joins in their game – with ultimately disastrous results.

Inspector Maigret investigates the murders of two paranoid women, an unknown woman whose body was discovered by a burglar during a robbery, and a seemingly meek and boring man.