Making a threadbare living flying charter cargos of dubious legitimacy around the Mediterranean, Jack Clay's ambition of starting his own chartering company remains a distant dream. All this changes in Athens when Clay bumps into an old wartime buddy helping the former Nawab of Tungabhadra recover his stolen fortune. Clay joins the hunt, but he is not the only one looking; there are many men – and women – who are prepared to lie and cheat, murder and maim, in order to get to the diamonds first.