Swashbuckling adventure, based on the novel by Clive Cussler and starring Matthew McConaughey as explorer Dirk Pitt. After finding a rare coin in West Africa, Dirk thinks he's close to solving the mystery of an American Civil War-era battleship that went missing with a valuable cargo of gold. Along with his inept sidekick Al (Steve Zahn), Dirk sets out to track down the treasure. On the way he becomes involved with Eva (Penelope Cruz), a beautiful UN doctor who is trying to find the source of a mysterious disease sweeping the country. Teaming up to take on the henchmen of an evil local dictator, Dirk, Al and Eva begin to wonder if their separate quests might be linked after all.