Irma la Deuce is about a prostitute and the policeman who loves her. Nester Patou (Jack Lemmon), a naïve policeman is transferred to the red light district in Paris, and he sets up a raid on one of the biggest brothels. His actions disturb the finely-tuned agreement between the pimps and the police department and the raid also catched Nester’s boss (who was enjoying the brothel at the time of the raid). As a result of the raid, Nester loses his job and goes to a bar to drown his sorrows. At the bar, Irma la Douce (Shirley McLaine), a quirky prostitute with a poodle and a fondness for pink, makes friends with Nester who then beats up her pimp, making him her new “pimp.” Nester falls in love with Irma, and becomes bothered by her sleeping with other men, so he poses as Lord X in an attempt to become her only client.