''Treasure'' is an

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

novel by

Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list ...

. This is the ninth book featuring the author's primary protagonist,

Dirk Pitt Dirk Pitt is a fictional character created by American novelist Clive Cussler and featured in a series of novels published from 1976 to 2021. Pitt is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of pulp magazine icon Doc Savage. Pitt is a citizen of the ...

Plot summary

The book starts with a historical prologue in which Julius Venator, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, along with a group of Roman soldiers and

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, sail in a fleet of ships ferrying the treasures from the

Library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...

before its destruction to a secret location to be buried in caverns. After the treasures are buried the people, the Roman soldiers, and slaves are all slaughtered by the natives. While one small ship manages to get away, they never reach land and the secret of the treasure is lost. The story then shifts to the present day, where an envoy of the US

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

having a secret meeting with a would-be

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

dictator, Topiltzin. Topiltzin kills the envoy, and sends his skin and heart back to the President. Soon after, a

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern terrorist secretly hijacks a plane carrying Hala Kamil, the new

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

. The hijacker bails out of the plane after ensuring that the plane crash lands in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, where Dirk Pitt, Al Giordino, and Rudi Gunn are trying to locate a sunken Soviet submarine. Also in the area is Lily Sharp, who discovers an ancient coin. They rescue Hala from the plane wreck. As the plot unfolds, several more attempts are made on Hala's life, since she is trying to stop would-be dictator Akhmad Yazid from taking over

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. It is later revealed that both Topiltzin and Yazid are scions of a notorious crime family. Dirk is distracted by the promise of treasure, however. Locating a shipwreck in

, they soon find a tablet detailing a mission to hide the treasure of the

library at Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, t ...

. As Dirk, Al, and the Special Operations Forces rescue Hala Kamil from a hijacked ship in the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

, Hiram Yaeger locates the treasure — in Roma, Texas. The final stretch of the novel involves Dirk trying to hide the treasure from Yazid and his brother Topiltzin. Eventually, the treasure is discovered and Yazid, Topiltzin, and their henchmen are killed.

Characters in ''Treasure''

*Dirk Pitt—Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) *Admiral James Sandecker—Chief Director of NUMA *

Al Giordino AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

—Assistant Special Projects Director for NUMA. *

Rudi Gunn Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spirit ...

—Director of Logistics for NUMA. *Hala Kamil—UN Secretary General *Dr. Lily Sharp—researcher who finds Roman coin *Paul Capesterre—Akhmad Yazid, son of a criminal family and would-be dictator of Egypt *Robert Capesterre—Topiltzin (brother of Paul) would-be dictator of Mexico

Release history

*1988, United States,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, , 1988 *1988, United States,

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

, , November 1988 *1989, United States,

Reissue, , October 15, 1989 *1991, United States,

, , May 1991 *2011, United States,

, , May 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treasure (Clive Cussler Novel) 1988 American novels Dirk Pitt novels Novels by Clive Cussler American adventure novels Simon & Schuster books Books with cover art by Paul Bacon