"Nine Queens" is the story of two small-time swindlers, Juan (Gastón Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darin), who team up after meeting in a convenience store and become involved in a half million dollar deal.
Early one morning, Marcos observes Juan successfully pulling off a bill-changing scam on a cashier, and then getting caught as he attempts to pull the same trick on the next shift. Marcos steps in, claiming to be a policeman, and drags Juan out of the store. Once they are back on the street, Marcos reveals himself to be a fellow swindler with a much higher stakes game in mind, and invites Juan to be his partner in crime.
Juan is skeptical at first, but agrees to work with Marcos after he impresses him with a few sophisticated cons. A once-in-a-lifetime scheme then seemingly falls in their laps -- an old time con-man enlists Juan and Marcos to sell a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. The tricky negotiations that ensue bring into the picture a cast of suspicious characters including Marcos' beautiful sister Valeria (Leticia Bredice), their innocent younger brother Federico (Tomás Fonzi) who idolizes Marcos, and a slew of thieves, conmen, and pickpockets.
As the deceptions and duplicity mount, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who is conning whom, and we begin to ask ourselves, "Who isn't a thief?"