In 1856, a British clipper ship sinks after a terrifying storm while transporting convicts to an Australian penal colony. The survivors are washed up on a solitary tropical island, where they discover an immense source of wealth – diamonds.

          One hundred and forty years later, Maeve Fletcher, one of their descendants, is stranded on an island in Antarctica with a party of passengers after their cruise ship seemingly abandons them.

          Dirk Pitt, on an expedition to find the source of a deadly plague that is killing sea creatures in the Weddell Sea, finds the passengers and rescues them. When Pitt later uncovers the cause of the plague, he discovers that Maeve’s father, Arthur Dorsett, a ruthless Australian billionaire diamond king, and her two sisters are responsible.

          A deadly race develops to stop Dorsett from continuing his murderous mining operations and to head off a disaster that will kill millions. Through trial by storms, hunger and thirst, Pitt’s inventive genius and relentless drive to survive bring him to a final, spine-chilling confrontation with Arthur Dorsett at the very heart of his domain, with the clock ticking against devastating tragedy – a confrontation in which Pitt gains triumph, but at the cost of great personal loss.