Sahara

In 1865, at the conclusion of the American Civil War, Richmond, Virginia is in ruins. The CSS Texas, captained by Mason Tombs, is loaded with the last of the Confederacy's gold to keep it from Union forces. It then disappears into the Atlantic.

In present day Mali, there is a civil war between dictator General Kazim and the Tuareg people. WHO doctors Eva Rojas and Frank Hopper investigate a disease spreading across Mali. A corrupt Tuareg named Zakara tries to murder Eva, but she is rescued by Dirk Pitt, from the National Underwater and Marine Agency, who was diving nearby.