A moonshining hermit. A reluctant pilot. A $5 million plunder. What if your archeology field class was hiding assassins and dealers in black-market treasure? Owen discovers a murdered corpse at a college-run archeological dig in the Utah outback but when he and a park service pilot try to reach the sheriff for help, their plane is shot from the sky. Owen must ditch the aircraft in the Colorado River, where he is saved by a moonshining hermit named Relic. The two flee from the sniper and circle back to warn the students. They must trek through rugged canyon country, unravel a baffling mystery, and foil a remarkable form of thievery. Suzy, a student at the dig, helps spearhead their escape but the unique team of crooks has a surprise for them...