The story begins in April 1863. General Robert E. Lee is informed through a spy that the North is in possession of 46 million in gold. This gold comes from the gold mines in California and was shipped by sea to Philadelphia. From there it is to be transported to Washington by train. Lee sends Jeb Stuart to steal the gold off of the train in eastern Pennsylvania. To assist Stuart, Lee plans to move his army north into central Pennsylvania thus distracting the Union Army. Even though the gold is apprehended, bad weather and bad luck work against Stuart and the gold ends up being buried in a secret location west of Gettysburg .The story fast-forwards to modern times. Earl Atwood lives in a small town in North Carolina. He is a descendant of a Confederate soldier. Earl and his family and nearly everyone else in town are on hard times as the mill in town has been shut down and there are simply no other jobs. To supplement his income Earl decides to sell some of his possessions. When Earl is looking for things to sell, he finds an old trunk which contains many relics from his great grandfather which include a book which he believes is filled with clues leading to the gold. He enlists the help of Brian, his brother-in-law, a professor of History from the University of Pennsylvania, and that professor's brother who is a cryptologist. These men set out on an exciting adventure changing their lives forever.