At Logan International Airport, the team manages to find one of Damien Moreau's men, John Douglas Keller (James Frain), and intends to steal his belongings, hoping to catch him smuggling Iraqi antiquities. Unfortunately, their plan fails as A'Yan, a foreign girl who wishes to reunite with her family, is detained for smuggling a statue. The team realizes that Keller uses children as mules to smuggle goods. Sophie is upset that Keller intends to buy the stolen goods from the auction in London, which is what she's done in the past. Luckily Nate talks her into going to London.
At London, the team finds Keller in Claridge's Auction House and tries to con him by having Nate sell a Statue of Ra that was recently dug up (which Parker steals from the storage room). Unfortunately, Keller sees through Nate's lies and his bodyguard gives him a beating. However after many clues during the time in the Auction House, Sophie realizes Keller's heart's desire and decides to start her own con. She steps in as Charlotte Prentiss, Duchess of Hanover, saves Nate by claiming that she used Nate to test Keller on his skills, and proposes the possibility of a royal title to Keller. This catches Keller's attention and he agrees to meet Sophie at Porter's tomorrow without their 'pets'.
After regrouping, Sophie explains that Keller has a royal fetish, specifically into items that he could use to obtain a barony. Hardison is assigned to create a forged item (with the help from Eliot and Parker) while Sophie (with Nate) teams up to meet up with Keller.
The following day, Sophie meets up with Keller and tells the story of a journal that belongs to a mistress of King George and how anyone who possesses it would be awarded a title. She tells him that the book is going to be auctioned at Claridge's, and says she's willing to help him obtain it in exchange of him smuggling the goods she has. Keller is convinced, but he brought in an unexpected guest, the Countess of Kensington. Nate, on earbuds, tells her to find a way out if her cover's blown but surprisingly the Countess recognizes Sophie. This convinces Keller that Sophie's persona is legit. While both Sophie and the Countess have their chit-chat, Keller receives a call from Moreau that there's been an incident at Boston and he needs him soon. So instead of holding the auction next week, he proposes if it could be done tomorrow.
Surprised by the proposal, Hardison (who's almost gone insane from forging the entire journal) has to make the glue dry up fast using the manicure dryer. The following day, Eliot meets up with Keller's head bodyguard, Ennis, to pick up Sophie's stuff. While Sophie deals with Keller at Claridge's, Hardison's on the way to Claridge's, Eliot (with Keller's main bodyguard, Ennis and his men) heads to Sophie's stash while stalling for time, and Parker poses as an auctioneer. After Hardison finally arrives with the journal, with a little help from Nate, the team manages to make Keller bid £300,000 in order for Hardison to trace it back to his shell companies. After Keller inspects the journal, he's impressed that it's real; Hardison celebrates in joy. However, Keller decides to double-cross Sophie since he heard of Sophie's scandal from the Countess and the possibility could ruin his chances of advancement. So after taking the journal, he calls Ennis to kill Eliot. Fortunately, Eliot manages to deal with Ennis and his men.
At Heathrow Airport, after making an appointment with Moreau on the phone, suddenly Keller is detained by the security guard for bringing Russian icons. However Keller denies that he bought any of it and even shows the paperwork of him buying the journal. Unfortunately, the security guard shows him that the lid and the bottom of the box are Russian icons and arrests him for smuggling them. Before Sophie's con, Nate asked Parker to take the Statue of Ra AND the Russian icons as he had an idea to use the Russian icons as a makeshift box. After finding out that the journal was also a forgery, Keller sighs in anger that Sophie managed to dupe him. But he's shocked to learn that he was also arrested for smuggling Sophie's stolen antiquities, which the police found in the storage that Sophie kept.
Back at Boston, A'Yan and her advocate thank the team for saving her as A'Yan reunites with her family. Just then, Hardison manages to trace one shell company that has a promising lead: "Slap Shot Investments". The company is run by Mark Vector, who's currently under protection by the feds to testify in court. Nate smirks as all he can say is "Let's go steal a federal witness!"
Tropes stolen in this job:
- As You Know: Sophie explains the provenance of the lost diary of King George III's mistress to Keller, who very clearly already knows all about it.
- Call-Back: Hardison mentions that Moreau is using Larry Duberman's
security systems. - Foreshadowing: At one point Keller tells his bodyguard to "call their man in San Lorenzo".
- Friend to All Children: Eliot. Nate is so used to it he doesn't miss a beat when Eliot abandons the job to take care of a stray.
- Would Hurt a Child: Keller watches A'yan be detained by customs after being caught with one of his smuggled artifacts without breaking stride, and calmly declares her an "acceptable loss." Later in the episode, A'yan's lawyer explains that children are usually forced to carry antiquities through customs by threatening them at gunpoint.
- Played with later: Sophie is horrified at the thought that children may have been used to move her stolen goods back in the day.
