One lazy summer, a London aristocrat at a loose end, all-conquering US surfers, a hot-headed Andalusian computer whizz-kid and a shy Oxford scholar party down America's East Coast. In Key West a chance encounter with a gnarled treasure hunter spinning dreams of lost Spanish gold, silver and jewels casts a spell over Nicola, Zak, Alona, Mitch and Rodi. Far below the Straits of Florida lies $250 million in treasure. If only the deep will give up its secrets.

Treasure soon turns into the worst kind of trouble. Key West's wreck hunters claim finders keepers. Spain warns the looters to keep their hands off Madrid's royal property. From Miami and Key West to Marseille, Seville and London, the quest turns into a high-stakes battle for the sunken past played out against dirty back-room government deals and power-hungry legal eagles. In the wings an American Indian tribe waits to settle a centuries-old score.

At stake, the freedom of the world's seas.