Since he has successfully executed various schemes for his boss, Las Vegas, Nevada, mobster Joe Fiore, Doc Fletcher argues he is ready to run his own operation. Doc convinces Joe to buy a Swiss bank so that he can run the bank and launder the casino’s profits through it. However, when Doc takes Joe’s troublemaker son, Albert, and master counterfeiter, Marvin Skinner, to Lugano, Switzerland, to meet Gianfranco di Siracusa, an Italian prince who is their partner in the deal, they find that Fiore’s bank, the International Bank of Sicily and America in Switzerland, is a tiny, nondescript establishment with virtually no assets. The prince explains that the most valuable asset is the official bank charter he obtained for them. Feeling cheated, Doc cancels the arrangement. As the prince departs, he expresses regret that Doc will not join him in a deal worth much more than the bank. Intrigued, Doc learns that the prince is referring to an opportunity with his Persian cousins. While Doc accompanies the prince to Iran, Albert and Marvin find a casino and gamble with counterfeit bills Marvin brought with him. In Iran, Doc learns that the prince’s cousins, Agha Firdausi and his sister, Shireen, found a silver mine on their land worth billions of dollars. In order to avoid paying taxes on the silver, the Firdausis need $5 million immediately to begin moving the silver out of Iran, but will need to borrow a total of $20 million to complete the operation and refine the ore into marketable silver. Insisting on a guarantee from the Firdausis, Doc proposes that they deposit $5 million into a savings account at his bank. Once the first silver bars are produced, Doc will loan them the remaining $15 million. Should the Iranians fail to repay the loan, the bank will take possession of the mine. The Firdausis agree to Doc’s terms. As they leave Iran, Doc confides in the prince that since the bank has no assets, he will be loaning the Firdausis the $5 million that they gave him. Back in Lugano, Doc and the prince discover that Albert and Marvin rented a villa with their casino winnings. When his compatriots ask how they will provide the rest of the Firdausis’ loan, Doc explains that they will get the funds from other bank depositors. Doc and his friends host a lavish party at the bank, renamed the American Bank of Lugano, for the prince’s wealthy contacts, who start doing business with them. Elsewhere, in San Francisco, California, Henry Foreman, the head of the First National Bank of California, orders his employee, Donald Luckman, to find a European bank that the financial institution can buy for about $10 million. Foreman allows Luckman’s wife, Debbie, to accompany him on the business trip, and the bankers begin their search for a suitable property in London, England. Later, at the London silver exchange, silver tycoon Charles Cook notes the increase in silver trading coming out of Iran and learns that the mysterious “foreign investment” held by a small, American-owned Swiss bank is actually the Firdausis’ silver mine. While it is inadvisable for Cook to buy American Bank directly, it could be purchased by another bank. On the way to meet with Cook, Debbie listens as Luckman and Foreman wonder aloud about Cook’s interest in the small bank. Cook proposes to the bankers that First National buy American Bank for $60 million and then foreclose on the mine. Cook will then purchase the mine for $60 million and First National can keep American Bank. Foreman is nervous about spending $60 million his institution does not actually have but agrees to Cook’s deal. To hide the existence of the silver mine, Luckman refers to it as “oil storage” in his report. Later, Luckman approaches Doc and informs him his institution may be interested in acquiring American Bank. Although Doc insists the bank is not for sale, Luckman suggests he think about the offer, then departs. Curious about First National’s interest in American Bank, and knowing where Luckman sent his wife for dinner, Doc pretends to bump into Debbie at the restaurant, hoping she might divulge some useful information. Finding themselves mutually smitten, Doc and Debbie return to his villa after dinner and make love. The next morning, Debbie mentions her husband is in London negotiating a deal with Cook regarding a bank that owns a silver mine and Doc realizes the deal is for his bank. When Luckman returns to the bank with a new offer of $50 million, Doc turns it down but Albert interjects that they will sell American Bank for $60 million. Doc is angry because he wants to keep the bank and knows the mine is worth much more than $60 million, but when Joe hears about the offer, he accepts the deal. Meanwhile, Debbie confronts Doc and accuses him of seducing her for information. When Doc indicates he has real feelings for Debbie, she and Doc reconcile and make love again. Later, Doc convinces Joe to give him one week to raise $60 million to buy the bank from him. Doc and the prince meet the Firdausis at their silver refinery and explain that they need $60 million to keep the bank. When Agha and Shireen report that the mine is not yet that profitable, Doc calls in the loan and demands $20 million. The Firadausis then confess that they never had a silver mine; rather, they smuggle silver trinkets from India and melt them into bars for sale on the open silver market. Needing capital for the operation and knowing that no bank would loan to smugglers, the Firdausis created the silver mine ruse. Doc rages that if he admits there is no mine, the deal with Cook and First National falls through and Joe will have him killed. If Doc hides the truth about the mine, the sale goes through and he loses control of American Bank. A moment later, the realization that although there is no mine, there is plenty of silver gives Doc a new idea and he immediately leaves for London. Later, Doc sells American Bank to First National for $60 million. Foreman and Luckman present the bank for sale to Cook but he refuses to buy it, having learned from Doc that there is no silver mine. Foreman laments that his bank cannot afford the $60 million he just spent until Luckman reminds him that First National can collect $50 million in insurance for fraud. Offering to give Foreman the remaining $10 million in exchange for getting the bank back, Doc suggests that Cook pay him $10 million to eliminate the Firdausis as competition; instead of selling their silver on the open market and driving down the price, Doc will ensure Agha and Shireen sell only to Cook. When Luckman mentions that someone must go to jail for the fraud, all but he agrees it should be Luckman for compiling the fraudulent report. Sometime later, Doc runs into Debbie, who explains she is looking for a place to stay near the Swiss jail where her husband is incarcerated. Deciding that Doc’s villa is close enough to the prison, Debbie jumps into Doc’s car and they drive away.