US forces invaded Iraq in March 2003. Simultaneous with the invasion the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad was ransacked and almost all of the world's greatest historical treasures of inestimable value were stolen...or were they? Baghdad Plunder is an addictive, page-turning, action-packed, thoroughly researched historical fiction novel that weaves fictional characters into the factual fabric of what actually happened to the vast treasures of the Iraq National Museum. It is either the largest robbery or the most heroic save the world has ever experienced. At the beginning of the US military occupation of Baghdad Special Forces Captain Tom Murphy is given a secret order to commence Operation Guardian. The initial assignment is to escort the head curator of the Iraq National Museum to wherever he directs. From the moment the head curator leaves the museum events never go as anticipated and a web of suspenseful intrigue is created surrounding the greatest treasures the world has ever known. Jeff Prentice is jogging on the beach just before sunrise when his foot is snagged on the strap of a locked backpack buried in the sand. He decides to hide the backpack and return for it later. During breakfast with his best friend Bob, they are invited to attend a memorial service for a past acquaintance, Captain Tom Murphy, who was killed in action in Baghdad. At the memorial service Jeff meets beautiful Linda Murphy, the sister of deceased Tom Murphy. Jeff also meets Sergeant Tyler Murphy, the brother who escorted Tom's body back from Baghdad. Jeff and Linda find themselves intensely attracted to each other. The next day, during a drive along the Santa Barbara coast, Linda reveals to Jeff the details of a secret letter from her dead brother Tom. The details revolve around a backpack she was instructed first to hide and then to bury on the beach near the Murphy family home. Jeff is astonished, conflicted, and chooses to says nothing about the backpack he has found and hidden. Neither of them knows what is in the backpack. Early the next morning Jeff retrieves the backpack from where he hid it. When Jeff arrives at his home the police are there because two unknown men have just broken into Jeff's apartment. The tension notches up. Jeff arranges to safely store the backpack in a locked cellar at Bob's home. After Jeff, Bob, and Tyler play in a league basketball game they meet Linda and Teri (Bob's romantic interest and Linda's best friend) at The Brew House in Santa Barbara. When Jeff and Linda leave the bar two men follow them. Jeff discovers they are being followed, successfully evades them and calls Bob to arrange an emergency meeting. When Jeff, Linda, and Bob discover the contents of the backpack they are shocked and presented with a difficult life-changing dilemma. The action next rolls back six weeks to the day Special Forces Lieutenant Tom Murphy received his top secret assignment to Operation Guardian. He is to go to the Iraq National Museum to rendezvous with the head curator, Mustafa, and safely escort him to wherever he directs. He is secretly known as The Guardian. It was previously arranged for Tom's brother, Tyler, to be assigned to patrol the museum area where Tom will rendezvous with Mustafa. When Mustafa exits the museum an attack erupts. The adventures continue to unfold as Tom attempts to save Mustafa's life, evade Hassan the Sunni terrorist, and discover the real mission objective of Operation Guardian. After several thrilling twists and turns of the unfolding mystery Tom concludes he must make the supreme sacrifice to complete Operation Guardian - he must die. Action segues from Baghdad to Santa Barbara, and then a return to Iraq with a surprise conclusion. The Iraq War significantly impacts each character and their integrity is challenged throughout the novel. The obsessive lure of vast riches blurs moral judgment as competing entities collide in the quest for possession of the contents of Captain Murphy's backpac