Jack Reed, former ace reporter, has been blackballed by the legitimate press and is now working for the tabloids. He has a chance to resurrect his career when a stranger gives him two old journals and sends him on a quest. The journals belong to James Meagher, the only surviving member of a 1938 expedition to locate the legendary Lizard People of the Amazon. Meagher claims the Amazonian tribe is actually composed of evolved dinosaurs, and that they took him captive in order to breed him with females of their species. Now, with the help of an old friend and a new love, Jack travels from the paleontological digs of Calgary, Canada through the halls of power in Washington, D.C. to ferret out the truth of Meagher's fantastic story. Along the way, an influential group of religious fundamentalists becomes interested in Jack's work, fearful that his discoveries will call creationism into question and determined to exploit the fabled tribe for their own purposes. They pursue Jack into the depths of the Amazon, where no one is prepared for what happens when they encounter the Lizard People.