The Hot Rock - Dortmunder is out on parole and needs to make some money. He's been commissioned to steal a valuable emerald for a newly-formed small African nation, and he calls up some of his colleagues to help execute the crime. No matter how well they plan, each attempt to steal the jewel fails, often due to events beyond their control, which leads to further and increasingly wilder attempts to fulfil their commission.

Bank Shot - When Dortmunder and crew plan a bank heist, they don't fool around: they don't just grab the money, they steal the entire bank. Of course, it's a little hard to stash their ill-gotten gains when said gains are so darned big . As the cops start to close in, they search frantically to find a place on Long Island to hide the bank until the heat is off.

Jimmy the Kid - Andy Kelp has an idea. He's read a crime novel by Richard Stark [The knowledgeable reader chuckles It's one of Westlake's pseudonyms. . ] describing the perfect kidnapping and thinks John Dortmunder and his band of merry bunglers should try it themselves. Dortmunder allows himself to be persuaded despite sizeable