Greg Langford, an Australian Government investigator is guarding ancient Egyptian artefactrs that are being returned to Cairo by military aircraft when Somali bandits attack it with a ground to air missile and bring it down in the desert. Langford and his friend Barry Wilder survive the attack, and when bandits arrive at the crash site to recover the treasures, Langford realises that strict security measures have been usurped by someone in the Australian political service. When the treasure is recovered by corrupt officials and taken to England, Wilder pursues them and tracks the perpetrators to London. His surveillance of bank officials and British politicians reveals the underground black market system being used to sell the artefacts to Arrt galleries and private collectors around the world. Much of the money obtained from sales is being used to finance a terrorist organisation and Langford traces them to Australia where a coup is being planned by the United Displaced Persons organisation based in Eastern Europe. His final efforts thwart their plan but at tremendous personal cost to Langford who ultimately pays a very high price for his victory.