The discovery of a valuable Central American artifact sends a desperate thief racing halfway around the globe and into a world of violence, mystery, and deadly chaos
The world has not been kind to Edmond Hawkins. Having recently fled an African nation suffering under the iron rule of a brutal dictator, Hawkins finds himself in London, penniless and with no prospects. A desperate man, he is driven to thievery, but when he pilfers a bag from a strange woman, his luck begins to change. Looking inside, he finds that in addition to a large amount of cash is a pendant made of solid gold, a rare and priceless artifact that Hawkins soon learns is a national treasure from the tiny Central American nation of Malpelo. Convinced that destiny has come knocking, he sets out across the ocean only to find himself plunged into the fiery heart of violence and revolution once he arrives. Hawkins soon realizes that his actions have inadvertently sparked an inexorable chain of events...