A beautiful bank robbery is being prepared by a veteran in the field, the legendary safe cracker Maitland (John Hurt) and his two enthusiastic heirs; Eddie (Rhys Ifans) and Ian (David Schneider).
The latter two dream of adventure, riches, travel and fame, while cracker Maitland harbours all the more complicated motives.
Nevertheless the trio unite in an ingenious scheme which is destined to go by the book (so to say). The plan is meticulous, yet the results are disastrous.
Dressed in Saville row suits and bowler hats, the criminals confidently carry out the burglary, however an unexpected, and unwelcome, rival gang endanger the robbery and now a throng of Police and SWAT teams arrive at the scene.
The authorities, which are led by the bungling Inspector Badger, stage a raid that goes horribly wrong. A seige ensues and the would-be robbers become hostages, unwillingly allied with this suspect crew of new colleagues and an enigmatic woman named Jo (Claire Skinner).
The assault continues outside the bank, under the efficient supervision of Professor Corner (Barbara Flynn) and her mysterious Cyclops agency, but the situation inside gets even more complicated.
This film is often quoted as Pulp Fiction meets Monty Python and is a fairly good film - very funny in places.