"In May 1940, as the German army blitzes Europe and Parisians flee their city, the chief curator of the Musée de l'Armée is ordered to get a mysterious piece of cargo out of the country. When he arrives at the port of Le Havre and learns that his intended ship has been sunk, he places the object on a decrepit steamer that sails out under German fire. In the present day, Dirk Pitt and the NUMA agency are on a diving expedition in the English Channel...