small-time boston crook tony pino (peter falk) tries to make a name for himself. he and his five associates pull off a robbery whenever they can. tony and his gang easily rob over $100,000 in cash from a brink's armored car, after which tony disguises himself as a spark plug salesman to get an inside look at brink's large and so-called "impregnable fortress" headquarters in the city's north end, a company renowned for unbreachable security as a private "bank" throughout the east coast.