a fateful encounter between a down-and-out fortune teller, a rock musician, and his agent. The agent bribes Baroness Lemberg to fake some hocus-pocus over a crystal ball, ostensibly to discourage the musician from pursuing his girlfriend. The trickery entangles each of them in a dense web of mendacity.

Black Comedy: The fussy neighbor, Harold Gorringe, returns just as a blown fuse plunges the apartment into darkness and Brindsley is revealed. Unexpected guests, aging spinsters, errant phone cords, and other snares impede his frantic attempts to return the purloined items before light is restored.