In a historic battle in 1749, Nadir Shah, Emperor of Persia defeated the Mughal Empreror, Shah Jahan in Delhi. As the spoils of war he is forced to give up the famous Koh-hi-noor, the Peacock throne and two chests of diamonds and rubies. The Persian General is entrusted with the chests of diamonds on their return journey through Afghanistan. Finding the large chests cumbersome, he hides the chests in a cave on a cliff. He draws a map on calfskin with details in Arabic. Among those killed by a surprise attack by Afghan Bandits is the General with the calfskin still attached to his belt. An Afghan villager finds it and saves the map thinking it to be a prayer mat. Fast forward to present day, Isthanbul, Turkey, where Ralph Beaumont and Laura Connelly are vacationing. On a visit to a famous mosque, they rescue a man with knife-wounds who has sought sanctuary in the holy place. When the man, Zakir Hussain, an Iranian recovers in the hospital, he mentions a map and an English archeologist Professor Oliver Goldsmith who he worked for exploring in the hills of Afghanistan. Oliver has translated the map and knows there's a fortune to be found. When Zakir Hussain disappears from the hospital, Ralph and Laura take an interest in clues leading to the map and the treasure. With technical gadgets from the Robotic Institute in Berkeley, it looks like Ralph and Laura may beat Oliver in the quest for the richest collection of precious gems never before seen. Oliver is not giving up. He intends to follow them to the ends of the earth and is willing to kill for what three nations may claim as theirs.