***SPOILERS*** After receiving an original Donnatello statue for her Covent St. Catherine's novice nun Sister Pamela,Carol Linley, has it stolen from right under her nose at the train station by petty hoodlum who's out on bail Jimmy Bresson, Clu Culager. The statue was given to Sister Pamela by ex-convict William Downey, R.G Armstrong, who's now a big time art dealer. It was Downey a student of hers at Catholic parochial school that the now bed ridden Sister Lydia, Sara Taft, straighten out over the years by by keeping in touch with him through the mail.Now rich and well off Downey want's to repay her for all the good she's done for him by donating the priceless statue to her Covent.
With the statue now gone Sister Pamela starts to lose faith and after thinking things over quits being a nun,just before her final vows, and goes out into the workforce to find a job and support herself. As things worked out the job she gets, as a typist, is at the same place where Bresson works loading trucks. It's later when an overbearing Bresson, who's about as obnoxious as one can get,invites her to a party his girlfriend is throwing at her pad that Pamela finds a pawn shop ticket for the statue that Besson stole from her at the train station.
Trying the right the wrong that she holds herself responsible for former Sister Pamela, now calling herself Pamela Willey, goes to the pawn shop to retrieve this statue only to have Besson follow her there! Feeling that the what seemed like worthless statue is worth a fortune Bresson and the pawn shop owner Wormer, Don Hanmer, try to knock off Pamala in them suspecting that she's an undercover cop, and also her knowing that the two are involved in a theft ring, and keep the statute all for themselves.
****SPOILERS*** The story has an unexpected out of the blue and boomerang effect ending that it not only ends up saving Pamala's life but resorts the statute to it's rightful owner St. Catherine's. It's after that life saving incident that Pamela finally sees what the Lord's grand plan was not only in her losing and then recovering the Donnatello statue but having her regain her faith which she all but lost. Which among other things mirrors that famous religious quote "The Lord works in Strange Ways". And the circumstances of Pamela both losing and, with her life in danger, finding that priceless statute is what finally convinced her of that!