After twenty years' planning, mild-mannered, unassuming Bank of England official Henry Holland has finally found the right connection to put his ideas into motion and steal an entire van load of fresh gold bullion.

It all starts when a new resident moves into his boarding house, Mr Pendlebury, a businessman who makes model novelties of tourist attractions across the globe - including metal Eiffel Tower paperweights.

Carefully sussing out his new acquaintance, the two men agree to put Holland's planning and Pendlebury's means to good use and embark on what must surely be the perfect crime: to stage an elaborate heist of the bullion van that Pendlebury himself is in, acting as trusty watchman and officious steward, travelling between the foundry and the bank's vaults.

Recruiting two experienced criminals to assist in the not inconsiderable execution of the scheme, Lackery and Shorty, the quartet set to work in preparation for new lives of untold wealth. The eventual heist itself is an enormous success for the gang, leaving Pendlebury the nationally-fêted hero and the police with almost no leads to go on, but the real work begins as the operation winds down and they set about covering the last of their tracks.

Can the Lavender Hill Mob get away with the most audacious crime in London's history, or will the Metropolitan Police catch them yet?