When a secret underground chamber is found in the Colorado mountains near Telluride, Dr. Patricia O Connell, a specialist in deciphering ancient languages, is invited to examine the inscriptions on the walls. While the archeologist and others in the party are studying the remarkable chamber, an explosion causes a cave-in, trapping them underground in rapidly rising flood water. Just as they begin to believe there will be no escape, they glimpse a light underwater. It would appear, a friendly voice said, that I have arrived in the proverbial nick of time. Yes, in a remarkable stroke of luck, a team of NUMA divers has been investigating nearby underground waterways, and Dirk Pitt has swum to their rescue.
Someone wishes the secret chamber to remain secret.
A mysterious obsidian skull is a clue to a long-forgotten civilization. Soon Pitt, his sidekick Al Giordino, and Pat will be searching for further evidence of the culture and its amazing prophecy of imminent doom. Their task, however, will be complicated by the diabolical maneuvers of a wealthy South American family whose ultimate goal is world domination. Dirk Pitt and I have a long history. Together we ve raised the Titanic, thwarted a plot to divert the mighty Mississippi, discovered ancient Incan treasure in Peru, and accomplished many remarkable feats of derring-do.