As the third series begins, Lovejoy returns to Felsham after a long break in Spain, where he was trying (without marked success) to learn to paint. He quickly seeks out Tinker (who has joined a monastery), Jane, who has a new look, and Eric, now working as a security guard. Victoria Cavero, an old friend of Jane's, comes to stay, and Lovejoy loses no time in falling for her. Victoria wants to sell a South American gold ring, and the ring sets in motion strange events for Lovejoy and Jane, including safecracking, kidnapping, polo and betrayal.

Lovejoy is spending more and more time with Victoria, not so much on his business. Together with Jane and Alexander, he and Victoria go away for the weekend at a friend's cottage. Meanwhile, Lovejoy buys some drawings for a song and sells them to an art gallery for a good profit. He is shaken when the pictures are denounced as fakes - even the artist says they are not his, but Lovejoy is sure they are. What is going on?

Lovejoy gets dragged into a sinister plot concerning Mussolini's nose and the burial at sea of Captain Bucknall (Jane's old house-keeper's brother). He is given the job of selling the late Captain's medals, and there is a smart fashion photographer who wants them, but then some drunken sailors come into the picture and he has to deal with the gun-toting Angelo Pantaloni...

Vicky finds an old claymore (a Scottish sword) in her attic. Lovejoy buys it at auction and is offered much more than it's worth for it. Puzzled, he investigates and finds the claymore is a map to buried treasure. Someone tries to steal it, so Lovejoy is not the only one hot on the trail. But the treasure is elusive - a supermarket has been built on top of it.

The Reverend Harry Nettles claims there is a mosaic floor belonging to a Roman villa in the field next to his church, which is about to be built on. Nobody believes him, and the county archaeologist has agreed to the plans, so Lovejoy races to thwart the developer. He also has a dance with Jane, newly separated from Alexander...

Some old sketches put Lovejoy and Jane on a trail which takes them up to Scotland, where they uncover a plot by another antiques dealer to con one of Jane's friends. At home, Eric is involved with a young woman with some unsavory relations, but she also has an antique mirror to sell. Lovejoy and Jane are moving closer to romance... but who is the girl Lovejoy keeps seeing in the woods?

Some old sketches put Lovejoy and Jane on a trail which takes them up to Scotland, where they uncover a plot by another antiques dealer to con one of Jane's friends. At home, Eric is involved with a young woman with some unsavory relations, but she also has an antique mirror to sell. Lovejoy and Jane are moving closer to romance... but who is the girl Lovejoy keeps seeing in the woods?