Plunder of the Sun

In Oaxaca, Mexico, a judicial hearing is held to determine American tourist Al Colby's involvement with Mexican antiquities. At the behest of Mr. Carter, an employee of the U.S. consulate, Al tells the following story, which began one week earlier in Havana, Cuba: Needing money to pay his hotel bill, Al agrees to be hired by Anna Luz as a guide for herself and her invalid husband, Thomas Berrien. However, instead of touring the city, she takes him to her house, where Berrien, who is an antiquities collector, admits that he and Anna have a business proposition for him. Berrien explains that he has a small package containing a Mexican antiquity that he removed from that country illegally and that he wants to smuggle back, so that he can claim he found it there. As Berrien is well known by Mexican authorities and fears he would be searched by customs officials, he asks Al to take it for him via a freighter that is departing the next day. Promising to pay handsomely, Berrien instructs Al to take the package to the Hotel San Felipe in Oaxaca, where Berrien will meet him. When Al agrees to take the job, Berrien gives him some money, tickets for the freighter and the package, and promises to pay him in full at the hotel. On the freighter, Al meets a rugged-looking American, Jefferson, who claims to be an independent coffee broker. Al also meets the rich young American Julie Barnes and her companion, law student Raúl Cornejo, who is returning home from the U.S. Upon seeing Jefferson, Berrien, who is traveling on the same ship, warns Al that Jefferson may try to steal the package. Later, Al sees Jefferson and Anna talking and suspects that they are working together. Al's cabin is then ransacked, and he and Anna discover that Berrien, whose cabin was also ransacked, has suffered a fatal heart attack. Upon arriving in Oaxaca, Al proceeds to the hotel, followed by Anna. After checking in, he opens the package out of curiosity and discovers that it contains three sheets of old parchment inscribed with strange lettering and a small disc carved from jade. Al later dines with Anna, and, at the same restaurant, Al spots Jefferson with his associate, Captain Bergman. Claiming that she is really Berrien's illegitimate daughter, Anna says that the package now belongs to her and offers Al two thousand dollars for it, but he refuses to hand it over. Al instead shows one page of the parchment and the jade to a museum curator, who tells him the text is written in a mixture of Spanish and Zapotec, and, unable to decipher the latter, refers Al to Ubaldo Navarro, a collector who is one of the few people who can translate it. When he returns to the hotel, Jefferson, who is a failed archaeologist, holds up Al and takes the empty package, unaware that its contents are safely hidden. Later, Al makes copies of the manuscripts and, intending to show Navarro only individual words, cuts up the copies and makes a master list. With Julie, Al travels to the 1500 B.C. ruins of Monte Alban. Jefferson follows, and tells Julie that he believes Al has the full twelve pages of a manuscript that indicates the locations of Zapotecan treasures hidden from the invading Spaniards. As he can translate the pages, Jefferson makes a deal with Al to help locate and remove the treasures from Mexico and divide the profits between them. At the hotel, Al learns that Navarro, who Anna explains is her guardian, has tricked him and obtained the complete copy of the manuscript. Based on Jefferson's deciphering, Al and Jefferson journey to Zapotec ruins equipped for an archaelogical dig, hoping to beat Navarro and Raúl, but find that their nemeses are already there. Jefferson and Al locate a treasure-filled tomb, but Jefferson double-crosses Al and shoots him. Found and rescued by Navarro and Raúl, Al awakens in the Navarro household. The three agree to work together to recover the treasure and donate it to Mexico's national museum. Later, by following Bergman, Al and Anna discover Jefferson is hiding in a museum storehouse, preparing to leave with the treasure. When Al tries to stop Jefferson, the two exchange gunfire, which hits a large stone bust, causing it to topple over and fall onto Jefferson, killing him. At the hearing, the judge informs Al that charges against him have been dropped due to Navarro's influence. As his finding of the treasure benefitted Mexico, Al will receive a $25,000 reward, but is required to leave Oaxaca on the next plane. Upon boarding the plane, Al finds Anna waiting for him and they return to Cuba to find the remaining nine manuscript pages.