Late at night Sheriff Jeff McQuede is awakened by a frantic pounding on his door. Arden Reed, his rival for Loris Conner, pleads for his help in finding Loris, who has been kidnapped. Reed claims she possesses a metal cross that will lead to a Spanish cave filled with history-changing artifacts. Reed believes that Tom Knox, part of an international smuggling ring, is holding her hostage and intends to find the treasure by any means possible. Knox has friends in high places, possibly one of the three FBI agents assigned to the case. The crimes of looting and kidnapping soon become murder. McQuede finds himself an unwilling ally of Arden Reed, and must join forces with men he dare not trust in order to locate the cave and rescue Loris.