Raffles and Bunny travel to a country estate—ostensibly for a week of cricket—with a plan to steal a priceless diamond necklace. They soon learn that two other thieves are there, as is dogged Inspector Mackenzie. For Raffles, merely adding intrigue to the game.

Raffles is visited by old school chum Harry 'Bunny' Manders, who has fallen on hard times. Penniless himself, Raffles comes up with a scheme to pay off Bunny's gambling debt by getting the money from the most obvious source—a plot that launches the duo into a life of crime.

Brash and crude, Reuben Rosenthall is a real 'rough diamond': a self-made millionaire who wears his wealth in the most ostentatious way possible. In other words, he's an irresistible target for Raffles, if not for the more hesitant Bunny. But as the duo find out, Rosenthall has a trick or two up his own sleeve.

Bunny feels he needs to do more to justify his share of their ill-gotten gains, so the partners in crime plan a job in which he takes the lead. But when things don't quite go as expected—leaving the partners in a tight corner—Raffles has to take charge to get them out.

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.