In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
In coastal Cornwall, England during the early 19th century, a young woman arriving there to visit her aunt discovers that she's married an innkeeper who's a member of a gang of criminals that arrange shipwrecking and murder for profit.
An American showgirl becomes entangled in political intrigue when the Prince Regent of a foreign country attempts to seduce her.
