Steve Cardigan, lieutenant, and his buddy Reggie Grimes mop up in the wake of the Desert Storm destruction in Baghdad inside a magnificent palace. They suddenly crash through the floor and plunge forty feet into total darkness. Steve leans Reggie against his backpack and nurses his sprain ankle. He carelessly spills water from his canteen that splatters on the dusty earth, and soaks around a metallic object. His fingers dig the perimeter of a star-shaped object incrusted with diamonds and rubies-a gold medallion Captain Dawson informs Steve that his mother is dead and his father is in jail; a transport awaits his immediate departure. He lands stateside and approaches the hospital in his hometown. The nurse behind the counter is his former high-school girlfriend, Gracie. She describes how his mother was treated with a new drug, and several other patients are sick. They agree to enter the administration office late that afternoon. Steve prints out a file on a drug, Zelprox. They sneak from the office, and motor to Gracie's apartment. He shows her the gold medallion, and she discovers an inscription on the obverse side. The next morning Gracie takes Steve to the local University to see Dr. Henry Harrington, her former professor in anthropology. Harrington deciphers the inscription: Given to Daniel by the royal house of Nebuchadnezzar in honor of his great God. When they exit the office, Harrington dials a code on his cell phone and says, "Yes, he still has it, and its priceless."