A stage magician vanishes in the middle of his act, as he is about to be arrested on suspicion of a $1,750,000 securities fraud. Banacek is called in to try to recover the missing money and solve the mystery of the disappearing man.
Magician Bradley Merrick pulls off the greatest illusion of his career: disappearing right onstage before a packed theater surrounded by police ready to arrest him for embezzlement. Banacek is called in to find the missing man and the securities he allegedly stole and disappeared with. Keen to go on vacation, Banacek accepts the job after thinking it over and meets the one member of the magician's family who cares about him.—statmanjeff