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Lucia asks Paul to take a package to Zurich for her
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The Plot
Paul is in Marrakech as the guest of Jamal Mustafa and his soon-to-be ex-wife Lucia who has made friends with Paul in order to get him to help her smuggle out a family necklace that her husband gave her as a wedding present, but is now taking back as a result of the divorce.
While dancing with him, and against his best advice, Lucia asks Paul to take the necklace with him when he leaves for Zurich in the morning.
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Lucia insists that the necklace legally belongs to her
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That evening her husband takes the necklace from her and places it in a locked cabinet.
Lucia insists that the necklace belongs to her, but Jamal declares that it is the property of his family.
A short time later Lucia goes to Paul's room, and hands the necklace to him, explaining how she could prove ownership in any country of the world aside from Morocco, but now that her husband is discarding her, she's being sent away with nothing.
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Ahmed retrieves the necklace from Paul's luggage
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So that he won't be accused of stealing, Lucia gives Paul a letter saying that the necklace he is carrying is her property, and he's transporting it to Switzerland on her behalf. so Paul finally agrees.
On the road to the airport the next day, Paul's car is stopped by Jahmal's brother Ahmed along with a team of helpers and guards.
Ahmed takes the necklace from Paul's luggage, saying that he will pretend that Paul didn't know what was inside the fake book which concealed the jewelry.
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Lucia gloats that the necklace has already left the country
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He brings it back to his brother who is just bidding farewell to Lucia. However, when Jamal looks closely at the gems, he sees that it's only a copy. Ahmed makes an attempt to stop Paul, but Lucia says that his plane has already taken off, and once again declares vehemently that the necklace belongs to her. Jamal strikes Lucia, and knocks her to the floor. The next morning in Zurich, when Paul brings out his electric razor, he discovers that it won't work, as it's only a fake compartment which is holding the Mustafa necklace. Lucia rings then from the Zurich airport, and says that she'll meet him that evening to pick up her property.
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Frazer tries to get to know the woman with the car
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They go out to dinner, and though she plans to put the necklace in a vault the next day, feeling that Morocco is a million miles away, Lucia wears it openly, though Paul advises that's a bad idea. When they take a taxi from the restaurant to go to a jazz club, it stops along the way. Ahmed and some of his heavies take the necklace, put Lucia back in the cab to be driven around the city for an hour, and give Paul a severe beating that leaves him unconscious and hospitalized. When he finally regains consciousness after some days, Lucia says that she knew he'd be all right, but Paul is in a state of misery with pain throughout his body.
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Paul is now determined to get the necklace back
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After a week in the hospital Paul is feeling a little better, and asks Lucia how she came to be in her predicament. She tells him that her mother virtually sold her to Mustafa, and is living comfortably on the money. But she also admits that she entered the marriage freely, quite enchanted with the idea of living in a palace with a charming Arab prince.
When Lucia speaks of her wedding, she brings up the necklace again, and its power to mesmerize her, telling Paul that she assumed it would always belong to her, and be passed onto her daughters and their daughters.
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Paul tells Lucia to go to Berlin, and wait for him there
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However, she tells Paul that after she saw what pain her selfishness caused him, she was now resolved to return immediately to the United States. To her surprise, he has other ideas, and the misery he suffered has made him determined to retrieve Lucia's necklace from the Mustafa family as revenge for Ahmed's beating him up. He tells her that he has to do some thinking about a way, and suggests that she come back to have dinner with him at the hospital that evening. Over the elegant supper table the nurses set up for him, Paul tells Lucia to take an envelope to Berlin, to be given to his friend Mike Allen, and wait for him to arrive.
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Paul introduces Lucia to her new fiance
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In Berlin, Paul's CIA friend has made Lucia into a blonde, and created a new identity for her as Elizabeth Thompson.
Paul then introduces her to his friend, the top race driver, Hank Rodgers, and tells her that they're engaged, and going to a party in Morocco hosted by her ex-husband.
Lucia is dubious that Ahmed wouldn't still be able to recognize him, and tries a ploy to keep Jamal's brother away from the party. He goes to see Jamal, and says that he wants revenge on Ahmed, but the flimsy plan doesn't work.
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Lucia stops Ahmed with a gun
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Ahmed is on hand for the gala party Lucia and Hank attend, and he recognizes her almost immediately.
Ahmed goes upstairs to have a look around, and suddenly finds Lucia pointing a gun at him. She makes him go into a room, then waits for Paul to arrive, and he gets into the house by means of a rope ladder.
When Paul enters the room, Ahmed springs at him, but Mustafa is knocked out and tied up. Lucia and Paul find the keys to the jewel cabinet in Jamal's desk, and go down to the strong room where the necklace is kept.
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They use a rope ladder
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They immobilize the burglar alarm, retrieve the necklace, and then both depart the house via the rope ladder. But just as they're on the ground, Ahmed starts to revive, and begin untying himself. He sets off the burglar alarm just as Paul and Lucia get in the powerful sports car where Hank Rodgers is waiting at the wheel.
A high-speed chase ensues, and eventually, the three pull off to a side road, and let their pursuers pass by. Moments later a helicopter arrives to spirit them away as the grim-faced Mustafa brothers watch the sky in shock.
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