Dirk Pitt is surveying in the Middle East when a stroke ot luck reveals an Ottoman wreck with a very curious cargo. While investigating the find, he foils a night raid on Istanbul`s Topkapi Palace Museum. This puts Pitt at the centre of a race to acquire a series of legendary artefacts. Meanwhile, the region is being pushed to the brink of war by a series of explosions across Turkey and Egypt. Finding that his search for the artefacts is linked to the attacks, Pitt must prevent a deranged brother and sister`s fanatical plans from succeeding ...