Summary In the lobby of a Bonn concert hall, a display case holds part of the original manuscript for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The evening's entertainment is ruined when a vandal smashes the case and sets fire to its contents before escaping through an open window in one of the dressing rooms. In London a few days later, "private investigator" Grant Logan is delighted when Christina Samone, an old girlfriend, turns up one day in need of his help. Her very rare Guarneri cello has been stolen- and it's worth a quarter of a million dollars. Grant and his 13-year old partner Ripley - the real brains behind the detective duo - take up the challenge although Grant is more interested in re-lighting an old flame than in investigating the mysterious theft. Their line of inquiry takes them to the London Symphony auditions where Grant's unspeakable violin playing creates enough of a diversion for Rip to steal the list of names for the maestro Slavinski's forthcoming cello auditions. Somewhere on that list could be a jealous rival, out to damage Christina's chances of success. The first cellist they visit has a Guarneri in his room. Despite Rip's protestations, a heavily disguised Grant gains access and makes off with the instrument only to break its neck as he goes. Back at Christina's room, Rip and Grant are appalled to discover that her cello has just been found in a rubbish bin and returned to her. Rip hastens to return the broken Guarneri to its distraught owner but picks up an unexpected lead when he does so. He pockets a program from the recent Bonn Summer Festival which he finds tucked in the cello's case. He realizes that four of the cellists invited to audition for Slavinski were also present at the Bonn Festival. Despite the return of Christina's cello, Rip suspects that something sinister is going on in the musical world. With a mystified and muddled Grant in tow, Rip continues to work his way through the list of cellists. Two cellos later, his theories are confirmed. With a flourish, he tears back the lining of Christina's cello case to reveal ... the missing Beethoven manuscript. While in Bonn, the thief had not destroyed the priceless pages but had tried to leave the building with the original. Fearing capture, he had hidden the manuscript inside one of several Guarneri cello cases and has been seeking the right case ever since. It only remains to unmask the villain and young Rip has of course long-since figured out the thief's identity. He and Grant accompany Christina to her audition for Slavinski where Rip's carefully stage-managed scheme spotlights the guilty party.

• Comedy
• Crime
• Family